Nicholas Archibald Hamblen, Lord Hamblen of Kersey, PC (born 23 September 1957) is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. 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 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 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 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 The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

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