Appointment of new Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal

The JAC, at the request of the Lord Chancellor, assisted the Lady Chief Justice in the selection of 7 new judges for the Court of Appeal.

Appointments

His Majesty King Charles III has approved the appointment of 7 new Court of Appeal judges. The appointees are Mr Justice Butcher, Mr Justice Chamberlain, Mr Justice Fancourt, Mrs Justice Farbey, Mrs Justice Lieven, Mr Justice Meade and Mr Justice Saini as Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal.

These appointments will fill vacancies within the Court of Appeal. 

Selection panel

The selection panel was chaired by the Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill. The other panel members were the Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos; a Non-Legally Qualified Judicial Commissioner of the JAC, Mr Uche Igbokwe; and two lay JAC Commissioners, Professor Christopher Bones and Professor Clare McGlynn.

Selection process

All candidates were required to submit a range of compelling evidence at both the application and interview stages of the competition which included professional qualifications and experience. 

The Lord Chancellor was consulted ahead of launch and prior to the interviews; views were also sought from senior members of the judiciary and legal professionals.

In accordance with section 79 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013, the panel determined the selection process to be followed. In accordance with s10(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, the selection exercise was open to applicants that satisfied the judicial eligibility condition on a seven-year basis or were judges of the High Court.