3 August 2020
The JAC, at the request of the Lord Chancellor, assisted the Lord Chief Justice in the selection of the next Master of the Rolls, Senior President of Tribunals and eight new judges for the Court of Appeal.
Sir Keith Lindblom has been appointed as the Senior President of Tribunals from 19 September 2020.
Sir Geoffrey Vos has been appointed as the Master of the Rolls with effect from 11 January 2021.
Two Lady Justices and six Lord Justices of Appeal have been appointed to fill forthcoming vacancies in the Court of Appeal from Autumn 2020. The appointees are Mrs Justice Andrews, Mr Justice Birss, Mr Justice Edis, Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, Mr Justice Lewis, Mr Justice Nugee, Mr Justice Stuart-Smith and Mr Justice Warby.
The selection panels for these competitions followed the requirements set-out in section 63 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The panels comprised Lord Burnett of Malden, Lord Chief Justice; Professor Lord Ajay Kakkar, Chairman of the JAC and Ms Sue Hoyle OBE, a lay commissioner of the JAC. In addition, Lady Black, a Judge of the UK Supreme Court and Ms Katharine Rainsford, a former lay commissioner of the JAC sat on the panel for the Master of the Rolls competition; Lady Smith, President of the Scottish Tribunals and Professor Sir Simon Wessely, a lay commissioner of the JAC sat on the panel for the Senior President of Tribunals competition; Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls and Katharine Rainsford sat on the panel for the Court of Appeal competition.
All candidates were required to submit a range of compelling evidence at both the application and interview stages of the competition which included independent assessments, judgments, a written plan and a pre-prepared presentation. The Lord Chancellor was consulted ahead of each launch and prior to the interviews; views were also sought from senior members of the judiciary from across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, senior civil servants and professional legal bodies.
Those appointed met the Lord Chancellor’s requirement for exceptionality against the various selection criterion.
Further information can be read on the website of the Judicial Office via the links below:
https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/appointment-of-the-master-of-the-…
https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/appointment-of-the-senior-preside…
https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/appointment-of-lord-and-lady-just…