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Judges' Council
The Judges' Council is a body in England and Wales that, representing the judiciary, advises the Lord Chief Justice on judicial matters. It has its historical roots in the original Council of the Judges of the Supreme Court, created by the Judicature Act 1873 to oversee the new Supreme Court of Judicature. This body initially met regularly, reforming the procedure used by the circuit courts, and the new High Court of Justice but met less regularly as time went on, meeting only twice between 1900 and 1907, with a gap of ten years between meetings in 1940 and 1950 respectively. After relative inactivity, it was eventually wound up through the Supreme Court Act 1981, which contained no provisions for its continued existence, something Denis Dobson attributes to newer bodies which performed the duties the Council had originally been created to do. The Council was re-established in 1988 following suggestions by both academics and members of the judiciary, initially as an informal bod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Chief Justice
The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English and Welsh courts, surpassed by the lord chancellor, who normally sat in the highest court. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 changed the roles of judges, creating the position of President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and altering the duties of the lord chief justice and the lord chancellor. The lord chief justice ordinarily serves as president of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal and head of criminal justice, meaning its technical processes within the legal domain, but under the 2005 Act can appoint another judge to these positions. The lord chancellor became a purely executive office, with no judicial role. The equivalent in Scotland is the Lord President of the Court of Session, who also holds the post of Lor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Lane
Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane, (17 July 1918 – 22 August 2005) was a British barrister and judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1980 to 1992, having previously served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1977 until 1980. The son of a bank manager, Lane was educated at Shrewsbury School and Trinity College, Cambridge. During the Second World War, he served as a pilot in the Royal Air Force, for which he received the Air Force Cross. Called to the English bar in 1946, he practiced with great success, prosecuted in several high-profile criminal cases, and took silk in 1962. He was appointed to the High Court in 1969, sitting in the Queen's Bench Division, was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1974 and to the House of Lords in 1977. The next year, after only six months in office, he was appointed Lord Chief Justice of England, serving until his retirement in 1992. A private man, Lane never gave interviews and kept a low public profile until his death in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Rafferty
Dame Anne Judith Rafferty (born 26 July 1950) is an English jurist, who served as a Lady Justice of Appeal of England and Wales from 2011 to 2020. Career Educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School before going up to read law at the University of Sheffield, Rafferty was the first woman to chair the Criminal Bar Association. She took silk (Queen's Counsel) in 1990 and was appointed a Recorder the following year. In 1999, she was promoted Deputy High Court Judge, before her appointment to the High Court of Justice in 2000, when she was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, receiving the customary accolade of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). In 2011, Rafferty was appointed to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales with effect from 5 July, and was sworn of the Privy Council. In November 2014, her appointment as Chancellor of the University of Sheffield (her ''alma mater'') was announced, to replace Sir Peter Middleton in Summer 2015. In 2019, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett
Heather Carol Hallett, Baroness Hallett, (born 16 December 1949), is a retired British judge of the Court of Appeal and a crossbench life peer. The first woman to chair the Bar Council and the fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal, Hallett led the independent inquest into the 7/7 bombings. In April 2019, she was appointed Chair of the Security Vettings Appeal Panel. In December 2021, she was announced as the chair of the public inquiry into the UK Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. On 29 June 2022, the Government accepted Baroness Hallett's proposed terms of reference for the inquiry, with minor changes suggested by the devolved administrations. Early life and education Hallett was born in Eastleigh in 1949 and was the daughter of Hugh Victor Dudley Hallett (1919–1991), a beat policeman who worked his way up to the rank of assistant chief constable and secretary general of the International Police Association. Hallett recalled during BBC Radio 4's ''Des ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Vos
Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos (born 22 April 1955) is a judge in England and Wales. Since January 2021, he has held the positions of Master of the Rolls and the Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales. Early life and education Geoffrey Charles Vos was born on 22 April 1955 to Bernard Vos and Pamela Celeste Rose ( Heilbuth) Vos. He was educated at University College School, London, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Career Vos was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1977, and practised in commercial and chancery litigation, both domestically and internationally. He took Queen's Counsel, silk in 1993 and served as chair of the Chancery Bar Association from 1999 to 2001 and as chair of the General Council of the Bar, Bar Council in 2007. Judge Sir Geoffrey began his judicial career with appointment as a deputy High Court Judge in 1999. He sat in the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey between 2005 and 2009, and in the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Munby
Sir James Lawrence Munby (born 27 July 1948) is a retired English judge who was President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales. He was replaced by Sir Andrew McFarlane on reaching the mandatory retirement age. Early life Munby was born on 27 July 1948. He was educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford and Wadham College, Oxford, where he is an Honorary Fellow. He was also an Eldon Scholarship winner. Legal career Munby was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1971 and practised as a barrister at New Square Chambers. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1988 and as a High Court Judge on 2 October 2000, assigned to the Family Division and authorised to sit in the Administrative Court. Munby was appointed as Chairman of the Law Commission on 1 August 2009, replacing Lord Justice Etherton. On 12 October of that year, he was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal, receiving the customary appointment to the Privy Council. His term as Chairman of the L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Leveson
Sir Brian Henry Leveson ( ; born 22 June 1949) is an English retired senior judge who is the current Investigatory Powers Commissioner, having previously served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice. Leveson chaired the public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press, prompted by the ''News of the World'' phone hacking affair. Early life Leveson was born in Liverpool, on 22 June 1949. He was educated at Liverpool College, a then public school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool. He studied at Merton College, Oxford and was President of the Oxford Law Society. Legal career Leveson was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1970. He initially practised in Liverpool and became Queen's Counsel in 1986. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terence Etherton
Terence Michael Elkan Barnet Etherton, Baron Etherton (21 June 1951 – 6 May 2025) was a British judge and member of the House of Lords. He was the Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice from 2016 to 2021 and Chancellor of the High Court from 2013 to 2016. Early life His grandparents moved from the pale of settlement in Russia to the East End of London in the early 20th century. Etherton attended Holmewood House School and St Paul's School, and studied history and law at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He was a member of the British fencing team (sabre) from 1977 to 1980 and was selected to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but joined the boycott in protest against the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Legal career Etherton was called to the bar (Gray's Inn) in 1974 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1990. He was appointed a High Court judge on 11 January 2001 and assigned to the Chancery Division, receiving the customary knighthood. In August 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Burnett, Baron Burnett Of Maldon
Ian Duncan Burnett, Baron Burnett of Maldon, (born 28 February 1958), is a British judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2017 to 2023. Early life and education Burnett was born on 28 February 1958. He was educated at St John's College, Portsmouth, and studied jurisprudence at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he became an honorary fellow in 2008.BURNETT Hon. Sir Ian Duncan '' Who's Who 2017'', A. & C. Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016. Legal career He was called to the bar at |
Judiciary Of England And Wales
There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales—different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are given more weight than district judges sitting in the County Court and magistrates' courts. On 1 April 2020 there were 3,174 judges in post in England and Wales. Some judges with United Kingdom-wide jurisdiction also sit in England and Wales, particularly Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and members of the tribunals judiciary. By statute, judges are guaranteed continuing judicial independence. There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians, however, for a distinct Welsh criminal justice system. The following is a list of the various types of judges who sit in the courts of England and Wales: Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor Since 3 April 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judicial Appointments Commission
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Synopsis The JAC recommends candidates for appointment as judges of the High Court and to all judicial offices listed in Schedule 14 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. It also provides support for selections to fill judicial posts that lie outside its responsibilities under Schedule 14. For example, the JAC convenes panels that recommend candidates for appointment to senior posts such as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Master of the Rolls, President of the King's Bench Division, President of the Family Division, Chancellor of the High Court and Lords Justices of Appeal. The JAC is not responsible for selecting justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom although a lay Commissioner does sit on the selection pane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chancellor Of The High Court
The chancellor of the High Court is the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. This judge and the other two heads of divisions (Family and King's Bench) sit by virtue of their offices often, as and when their expertise is deemed relevant, in a panel in the Court of Appeal. As such this judge ranks equally to the President of the Family Division and the President of the King's Bench Division. From 1813 to 1841, the solitary and from 1841 to 1875, the three ordinary judges of the Court of Chancery – rarely a court of first instance until 1855 – were called vice-chancellors. The more senior judges of the same court were the Lord Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls (who were moved fully to the Court of Appeal above in 1881). Each would occasionally hear cases alone or make declarations on paper applications alone. Partly due to the old system of many pre-pleadings, pleadings, and hearings before most cases would reach Chancery th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
