Robert John Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir, (born 7 September 1956) is a Scottish

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

who has been President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom since January 2020. He was the principal judge in the Commercial Court in Scotland before being promoted to the

Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is th ...

of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

in 2008. He is an authority on

human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...

in Scotland and elsewhere; he served as one of the UK's ''ad hoc'' judges at the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

. He was also a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.

Early life

Reed was educated at George Watson's College in Edinburgh (where he was dux), and studied at the School of Law of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, taking a first class honours LLB degree and winning a Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He then obtained a DPhil at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, with a doctoral thesis on "Legal Control of Government Assistance to Industry", and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1983.

Legal career

Reed was Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Education Department from 1988 to 1989, and to the Scottish Office Home and Health Department from 1989 to 1995. He was appointed

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 1995, and Advocate Depute in 1996. He was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the

and High Court of Justiciary, the country's

College of Justice The College of Justice () includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, ...

, in 1998, with the judicial title Lord Reed. He sat initially as a Judge of the

Outer House The Outer House (abbreviated as CSOH in neutral citations) is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted ...

, becoming Principal Commercial Judge in 2006. He has been one of the United Kingdom's ''ad hoc'' judges at the

, and sat in the Grand Chamber judgements on the appeals of the killers of James Bulger in 1999. Between 2002 and 2004, Reed was an expert advisor to the EU/

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

Joint Initiative with Turkey. He was promoted to the

(First Division) in 2008, and appointed to the Privy Council. He sat on the UK Supreme Court during the illness of Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, along with Lord Clarke, and succeeded Lord Rodger. He has been Chairman of the Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee since 2005, and was President of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment from 2006 to 2008, now serving as Vice-President. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law from 2001 to 06, and of the UN Task Force on Access to Justice since 2006. He is Convener of the charity Children in Scotland (since 2006) and Chairman of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law (since 2008). He has been an Honorary Professor of Law at Glasgow Caledonian University since 2005, and the School of Law of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

since 2006. On 20 December 2011, it was announced that Reed would replace the late Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as 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 President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the president and Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United ...

. He was sworn in on 6 February 2012. Lord Reed was Convener of the Children in Scotland Board from February 2006–March 2012. On 31 May 2017, he assumed office as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. On 30 March 2022, he tendered his resignation as a Hong Kong judge, citing concerns about the national security law. Reed was appointed Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in May 2018, succeeding Lord Mance on his retirement. He was sworn into the new position on 6 June 2018. On 25 January 2019, he was made an Honorary Fellow of The Academy of Experts in recognition of his contribution and work for Expert Witnesses. On 24 July 2019, the Queen declared her intention to appoint him President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and to raise him to the peerage. He succeeded Baroness Hale of Richmond as President on 11 January 2020 on her retirement and on the same day 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 ...

as Baron Reed of Allermuir, of Sundridge Park in the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is a London Borough, borough in London, England. It is the largest and southeasternmost borough in London, and borders the county of Kent, of which it formed part until 1965. The borough's population in the 2021 ...

. He was sworn in as president on 13 January and introduced to the House of Lords on 16 January. Writing for the UK Constitutional Law Association, Lewis Graham of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

examined the empirical evidence relating to judgements of the Supreme Court under Reed up to April 2022, and found that it has been "more conservative when it comes to public law" compared to previous years.

Notable judgments

Lord Reed's judgments are characterised by an in-depth analysis of the common law. He has handed down judgements on various important topics of the law: * ''AXA General Insurance Ltd v Lord Advocate'' 011UKSC 46: On the limits on the Scottish Parliament's powers * ''Osborn v The Parole Board'' 013UKSC 61, 0133 WLR 1020: On common law duty of procedural fairness * ''Bank Mellat v Her Majesty's Treasury (No. 2)'' 013UKSC 39, 0141 AC 700 (Dissenting) * ''AIB Group (UK) plc v Mark Redler & Co Solicitors'' 014UKSC 58, 0143 WLR 1367: On the causation requirement for a breach of trust * ''R (Bourgass) v Secretary of State for Justice'' 015UKSC 54, 016AC 384 * ''Hesham Ali (Iraq) v Home Secretary'' 016UKSC 60, 0161 WLR 4799 * '' R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union'' 017UKSC 5, 018AC 61 (Dissenting): Lord Reed wrote the leading dissenting judgment in the Article 50 litigation, holding that the Government could initiate the UK's withdrawal from the European Union without reference to Parliament * ''Investment Trust Companies v Revenue and Customs Commissioners'' 017UKSC 29; 018AC 275 * '' R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor'' 017UKSC 51, 0173 WLR 409: Declaring employment tribunal fees set by Lord Chancellor unlawful * '' Robinson v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police'' 018UKSC 4, 018AC 736: the duty of care owed by police officers under the common law * ''Morris-Garner & Anor v One Step (Support) Ltd'' 018UKSC 20, 019AC 649: On the availability of negotiating damages for breach of contract * ''Jonathan Lu & Others v Paul Chan Mo-Po & Another'' 018HKCFA 11, (2018) 21 HKCFAR 94: On the concept of malice in the common law of defamation in the context of qualified privilege * '' R (Miller) v Prime Minister'' 019UKSC 41, 020AC 373: Declaring the prorogation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson as unlawful (joint judgment with Lady Hale) * ''WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants'' 020UKSC 12, 0202 WLR 941: On vicarious liability * '' Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd'' 020UKSC 31, 021AC 39: on the rule against reflective loss * '' R (Begum) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission & Anor'' 021UKSC 7, 0212 WLR 556: On whether Shamima Begum should be returned to the United Kingdom to challenge the Home Secretary's decision to deprive her nationality * ''R (AAA)'' ''v'' ''Secretary of State for the Home Department'' 023UKSC 42: Declaring the Secretary of State for the Home Department's ' Rwanda policy' to send asylum-seekers in the UK to Rwanda to have their claims processed there instead as unlawful.

Honours and awards

In 2015 Reed was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. Lord Reed is High Steward of the University of Oxford and succeeded Lord Rodger as Visitor of Balliol College, Oxford.

Personal life

He married Jane Mylne, Lady Reed in 1988, with whom he has two daughters.

References