Robert John Anderson Carnwath, Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, CVO, PC (born 15 March 1945) is a former British Supreme Court

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. The son of Sir Andrew Carnwath KCVO, Robert Carnwath was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, where he won the

Newcastle Scholarship The Newcastle Scholarship is an annual prize awarded at Eton College in England for the highest performance in a series of special written examinations taken over the course of a week. It was instituted and first awarded in 1829 and is the college ...

, and

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

. Carnwath was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1968. He practised in parliamentary law, planning and local government, revenue law, and administrative law. He held the appointment of Junior Counsel to the

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation t ...

(Common Law) from 1980 to 1985, succeeded by

Alan Moses Sir Alan George Moses (born 29 November 1945) is a former Lord Justice of Appeal, a Court of Appeal Judge and the former chairman of Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). He is joint Chair of the United Kingdom's Spoliation Advisory ...

, later Lord Justice Moses. He became 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 ...

in 1985, and was Attorney General to the Prince of Wales from 1988 to 1994. He was appointed as a High Court judge on 3 October 1994, assigned to 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 received 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 served as Chairman of the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

from 1999 to July 2002. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal on 15 January 2002 and, as is customary, became a member of 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 ...

. He was sworn in as the first

Senior President of Tribunals The Senior President of Tribunals is a senior judge in the United Kingdom who presides over the UK tribunal system. The Senior President is appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Lord Chancellor following the recommen ...

on 12 November 2007. On 20 December 2011, Carnwath was announced as an appointee to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. By Royal Warrant, all members of the Supreme Court, even if they do not hold a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, are entitled to the judicial style and title "Lord" for life. Carnwath was granted the courtesy style Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill. Carnwath is the Chairman of the Advisory Council for the

Institute of Advanced Legal Studies The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) is a member institute of the School of Advanced Study, University of London. Founded in 1947, it is a national academic centre of excellence, serving the legal community and universities across the ...

. He plays the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, as well as singing in the Bach Choir. Lord Carnwath is an Honorary Professor of Law at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, an Honorary Fellow of

, and a Visiting Professor in Practice at the Grantham Research Institute at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. Outside the law, he is a keen amateur musician. He is a former Governor of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

(Hon FRAM) and former Chairman of the Britten-Pears Foundation.

References

Bibliography

The Court of Appeal
from

HM Courts Service Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) was an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and was responsible for the administration of the civil, family and criminal courts in England and Wales. It was created by the amalgamation of the Magi ...

Senior Judiciary ListJudicial Appointments
from

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...

, 11 September 2001
Appointments to the Supreme Court
from Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, 20 December 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnwath, Robert Living people 1945 births British people of American descent People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Chancery Division judges Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Middle Temple English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel