Robert Walker, Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe, , (17 March 1938 – 16 November 2023) was a British barrister and

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 served as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal between 2009 and 2023. Walker sat 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 ...

until his retirement from the House on 17 March 2021.

Early life and non-judicial career

Robert Walker was born on 17 March 1938, as the son of Ronald Robert Antony Walker by his wife Mary Helen Welsh. He was educated at

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

from where he graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and Law. He 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 ...

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

in 1960 and 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 1982. In 2010 he was the Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn. Walker was an Honorary Fellow of

. Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe served on the Honorary Editorial Board of the Warwick Student Law Review from its inception in 2010.

Judicial career

In 1994, Walker was appointed a High Court Judge in the

Chancery Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

, and as is customary was then made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, before appointment as 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 ...

in 1997. He succeeded Lord Slynn of Hadley as a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

in 2002 and 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 Walker of Gestingthorpe, of Gestingthorpe in the County of Essex. He and nine other Lords of Appeal in Ordinary became

Justices ''Justice'' (abbreviation: ame ''J.'' and other variations) is an honorific style and title traditionally used to describe a jurist who is currently serving or has served on a supreme court or some equal position. In some countries, a justice ma ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

upon its inauguration on 1 October 2009.

Personal life

Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe married Suzanne Diana Leggi in 1962. They had one son (Robert, born 1963) and three daughters (Penelope Mary, born 1966; Julian Diana, born 1968; and Henrietta Solveig, born 1972). He died on 16 November 2023, at the age of 85.

Notable judgments

*'' Re A (Children) (Conjoined Twins: Surgical Separation)'' 001Fam 147 *'' Gillett v Holt''

000 Triple zero, Zero Zero Zero, 0-0-0 or variants may refer to: * 000 (emergency telephone number), the Australian emergency telephone number * 000, the size of several small List of screw drives, screw drives * 0-0-0, a Droid (Star Wars)#0-0-0, dro ...

3 WLR 815 * *'' Moore Stephens v Stone Rolls Ltd'' 009UKHL 39 *'' HJ and HT v Home Secretary'' 010UKSC 31 *'' Futter & Anor v HMRC; Pitt & Anor v HMRC'' 013UKSC 26 *, (2014) 17 HKCFAR 218 *, (2018) 21 HKCFAR 370

Arms

External links

www.parliament.uk

Debrett's People of Today

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Robert 1938 births 2023 deaths Crossbench life peers People educated at Downside School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn Chancery Division judges Walker of Gestingthorpe Walker of Gestingthorpe English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) 21st-century English judges Knights Bachelor Knights of Malta Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Life peers created by Elizabeth II