Sir Patrick Coghlin, PC (born 7 November 1945), is a retired member of the

Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern I ...

. Educated at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

, Coghlin was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in 1970;

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

(

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

) in 1975; and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, in 1993. He became Junior Crown Counsel in 1983, serving until 1985, when he was made a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. He served as a deputy County Court judge from 1983 to 1994, and as Senior Crown Counsel for Northern Ireland 1993–97. He was appointed a judge of the High Court of Justice of Northern Ireland on 7 April 1997, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. He was promoted to be a Lord Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland on 5 September 2008. That year, he was also appointed to a five-year term as a judicial member of the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission. In consequence of his promotion, he was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 2009. He retired in 2015. Coghlin was appointed President of the

Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland The Lands Tribunal for Northern Ireland is a court of record in Northern Ireland established by the Lands Tribunal and Compensation Act (Northern Ireland) 1964 Land is the solid surface of the Earth that is not covered by water. Land, lands, ...

in 1999, and has been a member of the Council of the Association of European Competition Law Judges since 2002. He was elected an honorary

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of Gray's Inn in 2000. He served in the following roles: * Vice-chairman Mental Health Review Tribunal for Northern Ireland, 1986–1997 * Member of Northern Ireland's Law Reform Advisory Committee, 1989–1993 * Vice-President of the Value Added Tax Tribunal for Northern Ireland, 1990–1993 * Chairman of the Executive Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland, 1991–1993 * Deputy Chair of the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland, 1999–2002

References

Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge 1945 births Living people British King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom High Court judges of Northern Ireland Lords Justice of Appeal of Northern Ireland {{UK-law-bio-stub