Roger John Laugharne Thomas, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd, FLSW (born Carmarthen, 22 October 1947) is a British judge. He served as

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales 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 ...

from 2013 to 2017. He sits in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

Early life and education

Thomas was born in 1947 to Roger Edward Laugharne Thomas and his wife Dinah Agnes Thomas, of

Cwmgiedd Cwmgiedd is a small village beside the River Giedd within the community of Ystradgynlais, Powys, Wales. It lies 22.5 km (15 miles) north-east of Swansea and 253 km (157 miles) west of London. '' The Silent Village'', a 1943 British pr ...

. Thomas was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, where he graduated B.A. in law in 1966. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity Hall in 2004. He proceeded to the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

where he earned a J.D. degree and was a Commonwealth Fellow. Thomas was an assistant teacher at Mayo College,

Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...

, India, from 1965 to 1966.

Legal career

Thomas 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 ...

in 1969 (

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 ...

). He was elected a Bencher in 1992. He commenced practice in 1972, became a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1984 and was appointed a Recorder in 1987. He practiced as a member of the commercial chambers at 4 Essex Court in the Temple, which in 1994 moved to

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...

and has since then been known as

Essex Court Chambers Essex Court Chambers is a set of commercial barristers in Lincoln's Inn Fields, central London. It has 110 tenants, of whom 55 are King's Counsel, also known as Silks. It is considered by legal commentators to be one of the ' Magic Circle' of Londo ...

. In 1992 he was appointed by the Department of Trade and Industry as an Inspector into the affairs of Mirror Group Newspapers plc (when it was owned by Robert Maxwell) and its IPO. On 11 January 1996, he was appointed a High Court judge, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

, and was assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

, serving on the Commercial Court until his appointment to the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

. From 1998 to 2001 he was a Presiding Judge of the Wales and Chester Circuit. On 14 July 2003, Thomas became 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) Just ...

and given the customary appointment to the Privy Council later that year. He served as the Senior Presiding Judge from 2003 to 2006, and President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary from 2008 to 2010, having participated in its founding in 2003–2004. In October 2008, Thomas was appointed vice-president of the Queen's Bench Division and Deputy Head of Criminal Justice. On 3 October 2011, he succeeded Sir Anthony May as President of the Queen's Bench Division.

Lord Chief Justice

On 1 October 2013, Thomas was appointed to succeed Lord Judge as

. On 26 September 2013, it was announced Thomas would become a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

upon taking office as Lord Chief Justice. He was created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

on 4 October 2013, taking the title Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd, of Cwmgiedd in the County of

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

. Following his introduction, as a serving member of the judiciary he was immediately disqualified from sitting in the House of Lords under section 137(3) of the

Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law ...

. His disqualification from sitting in the House of Lords ceased on his retirement as Lord Chief Justice. He is a member of the EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee and chaired the Middle Level Bill Committee in 2018.

Other affiliations

He was appointed by the Government of Wales in September 2017 to chair a Commission on Justice in Wales. Commissioners were appointed in November 2017. The commission undertook a review of the justice system in Wales (for December 2017 – October 2019) and published its report in October 2019. The report "set a long term vision for the future of justice in Wales". Thomas is one of the founding members of the

European Law Institute The European Law Institute (ELI) is an independent, non-profit organisation established in June 2011 to initiate, conduct, and facilitate research, make recommendations and provide practical guidance in the field of European legal development. Th ...

, a non-profit organisation that conducts research, makes recommendations and provides practical guidance in the field of European legal development. He is a member of its executive committee. He is an Honorary Fellow of

, and a Fellow of the Universities of Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Bangor and an honorary Doctor of Law of the Universities of South Wales, the West of England, Wales and of Cardiff Metropolitan University. He is a Fellow of the

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales () is a national academy, learned society and Charitable organization, charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the W ...

. He served as chancellor of

Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

from January 2018 to January 2025. He was appointed chairman of the Financial Markets Law Committee in November 2017. He returned to Essex Court Chambers in November 2017 and joined the Arbitrators at 24 Lincoln's Inn Fields. He was a founder of the AIDA Reinsurance and Insurance Arbitration Society in 1991 and is its president. He has been President of Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Center, an international commercial court in Doha, Qatar.

Personal life

In 1973, he married Elizabeth Ann Buchanan, daughter of S J Buchanan of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, US. They have one son and one daughter. He lists his recreations in ''

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

'' as gardens, walking and travel.

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas of Cwmgiedd, John Thomas, Baron 1947 births Knights Bachelor People educated at Rugby School 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century Welsh judges Presidents of the Queen's Bench Division Lord justices of appeal Lord chief justices of England and Wales Crossbench life peers Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of Gray's Inn University of Chicago Law School alumni Living people 20th-century Welsh lawyers 21st-century English judges Place of birth missing (living people) Welsh King's Counsel Life peers created by Elizabeth II Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales