Nicholas Archibald Hamblen, Lord Hamblen of Kersey, PC (born 23 September 1957) is a

justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are the judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom other than the president and the deputy president. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United Kingdom for civil and crimi ...

. Prior to his judicial career Hamblen was a specialist in maritime and commercial law.

Early life and education

He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and graduated from

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

in 1979, being the top first in law. He later became an Eldon scholar and he sits on the scholarship committee. He was awarded a

Kennedy Scholarship Kennedy Scholarships provide full funding for up to ten British post-graduate students to study at either Harvard University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Susan Hockfield, the sixteenth president of MIT, described the schol ...

to attend

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and graduated with a LLM.

Career

He was called to the bar in 1981 and took silk in 1997. As a Queen's Counsel, his principal areas of practice were shipping, insurance and reinsurance, international sale of goods, commodities, conflicts of laws and arbitration. He has appeared in the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and before various arbitration tribunals. He has also acted as an arbitrator in maritime, insurance and international commercial matters; as well as in ICC, LCIA, LAS, LMAA and general commercial disputes. While at the bar, he was a member of 20 Essex Street. He became an Assistant Recorder in 1999 and a Recorder in 2000. He was appointed to sit as a Justice in the High Court in 2008. On 24 July 2015, it was announced that he would be appointed a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

to fill one of the vacancies due to arise in the coming autumn. He was officially appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in February 2016. On 8 November 2018, at the annual Donald O'May maritime law lecture held at The Law Society in London's Chancery Lane, Hamblen gave an address on the issue of "

Indemnity In contract law, an indemnity is a contractual obligation of one party (the ''indemnitor'') to compensate the loss incurred by another party (the ''indemnitee'') due to the relevant acts of the indemnitor or any other party. The duty to indemni ...

in time charterparties". Hamblen was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom with effect from 13 January 2020, taking the

judicial courtesy title A courtesy title is a form of address in systems of nobility used for children, former wives and other close relatives of a peer, as well as certain officials such as some judges and members of the Scottish gentry. These styles are used "by court ...

of Lord Hamblen of Kersey.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamblen, Nicholas 1957 births Living people People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Harvard Law School alumni Kennedy Scholarships Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 21st-century English judges Lords Justices of Appeal Knights Bachelor Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel