This is a list of justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom since its creation on 1 October 2009 upon the transfer to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom of the judicial functions of the House of Lords.
The court comprises a president, a deputy president and 10 (puisne) justices, for a total of 12 judges, of which — by convention — nine are from England and Wales, two from Scotland, and one from Northern Ireland. At the court's creation, 10 judges were appointed from the House of Lords, and one was appointed directly to it. The remaining initial vacancy was filled by Lord Dyson six months later.
Judge of the Supreme Court | Served from | Served until | Tenure length | Replacing | Previous judicial office | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers | 1 October 2009 | 30 September 2012 | 3 years and 0 days | Original justice | Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2008–09) Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (2005–08) Master of the Rolls (2000–05) Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1999–2000) |
| |
2 | The Lord Hope of Craighead | 1 October 2009 | 26 June 2013 | 3 years and 269 days | Original justice | Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2009) Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1996–2009) Lord President of the Court of Session (1989–96) |
| |
3 | The Lord Saville of Newdigate | 1 October 2009 | 30 September 2010 | 1 year and 0 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (1997–2009) Lord Justice of Appeal (1994–97) | ||
4 | The Lord Collins of Mapesbury | 1 October 2009 | 7 May 2011 | 1 year and 219 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2009) Lord Justice of Appeal (2007–09) | ||
5 | 1 October 2009 | 26 June 2011 | 1 year and 269 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2001–09) Lord President of the Court of Session (1996–2001) Senator of the College of Justice (1995–96) |
| ||
6 | The Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood | 1 October 2009 | 9 April 2012 | 2 years and 192 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2004–09) Lord Justice of Appeal (1992–2004) | ||
7 | The Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe | 1 October 2009 | 17 March 2013 | 3 years and 174 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2002–09) Lord Justice of Appeal (1997–2002) | ||
8 | The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony | 1 October 2009 | 30 September 2017 | 8 years and 0 days | Original justice | Master of the Rolls (2005–09) Lord Justice of Appeal (1998–2005) |
| |
9 | The Lord Mance | 1 October 2009 | 6 June 2018 | 8 years and 249 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2005–09) Lord Justice of Appeal (1999–2005) |
| |
10 | The Baroness Hale of Richmond | 1 October 2009 | 31 January 2020 | 10 years and 102 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2004–09) Lord Justice of Appeal (1999–2003) |
| |
11 | The Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore | 1 October 2009 | 30 September 2020 | 11 years and 0 days | Original justice | Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2009) Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland (2004–09) |
| |
12 | Lord Dyson | 13 April 2010 | 1 October 2012 | 2 years and 172 days | Original justice | Deputy Head of Civil Justice (2003–06) Lord Justice of Appeal (2001–10) |
| |
13 | Lord Wilson of Culworth | 26 May 2011 | 9 May 2020 | 8 years and 350 days | The Lord Saville of Newdigate | Lord Justice of Appeal (2005–11) | ||
14 | Lord Sumption | 11 January 2012 | 9 December 2018 | 6 years and 333 days | The Lord Collins of Mapesbury | None (Queen's Counsel (1986–2012)) |
| |
15 | The Lord Reed of Allermuir | 6 February 2012 | Incumbent | 12 years and 88 days | The Lord Rodger of Earlsferry | Senator of the College of Justice (1998–2012) |
| |
16 | Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill | 17 April 2012 | 15 March 2020 | 7 years and 334 days | The Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood | Lord Justice of Appeal (2002–12) | ||
17 | The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury | 1 October 2012 | 4 September 2017 | 4 years and 339 days | The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers | Master of the Rolls (2009–12) Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (2007–09) Lord Justice of Appeal (2004–07) |
| |
18 | Lord Hughes of Ombersley | 9 April 2013 | 11 August 2018 | 5 years and 125 days | Lord Dyson | Vice President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal (2009–13) Lord Justice of Appeal (2006–13) | ||
19 | Lord Toulson | 9 April 2013 | 22 September 2016 | 3 years and 167 days | The Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe | Lord Justice of Appeal (2006–13) Chairman of the Law Commission (2002–06) | ||
20 | Lord Hodge | 1 October 2013 | Incumbent | 10 years and 216 days | The Lord Hope of Craighead | Senator of the College of Justice (2005–13) |
| |
21 | Lady Black of Derwent | 2 October 2017 | 10 January 2021 | 3 years and 101 days | Lord Toulson | Lord Justice of Appeal (2010–17) Justice of the High Court, FD (1999–2010) | ||
22 | Lord Lloyd-Jones | 2 October 2017 (first term)30 August 2022 (second term) | 13 January 2022 (first term) Incumbent (second term) | 4 years and 104 days (first term) 1 year and 248 days (second term) | The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony Himself | Lord Justice of Appeal (2012–17) Justice of the High Court, QBD (2005–12) |
| |
23 | Lord Briggs of Westbourne | 2 October 2017 | Incumbent | 6 years and 215 days | The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury | Lord Justice of Appeal (2013–17) Justice of the High Court, CD (2006–13) | ||
24 | Lady Arden of Heswall | 1 October 2018 | 24 January 2022 | 3 years and 116 days | The Lord Mance | Lady Justice of Appeal (2000–18) Justice of the High Court, CD (1993–2000) | ||
25 | Lord Kitchin | 1 October 2018 | 29 September 2023 | 4 years and 364 days | Lord Hughes of Ombersley | Lord Justice of Appeal (2011–18) Justice of the High Court, CD (2005–11) | ||
26 | Lord Sales | 11 January 2019 | Incumbent | 5 years and 114 days | Lord Sumption | Lord Justice of Appeal (2014–19) Justice of the High Court, CD (2008–14) | ||
27 | Lord Hamblen of Kersey | 13 January 2020 | Incumbent | 4 years and 112 days | The Baroness Hale of Richmond | Lord Justice of Appeal (2016–20) Justice of the High Court, QBD (2008–16) | ||
28 | Lord Leggatt | 21 April 2020 | Incumbent | 4 years and 13 days | Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill | Lord Justice of Appeal (2018–20) Justice of the High Court, QBD (2012–18) | ||
29 | Lord Burrows | 2 June 2020 | Incumbent | 3 years and 337 days | Lord Wilson of Culworth | None (Queen's Counsel (2003–20)) |
| |
30 | Lord Stephens of Creevyloughgare | 1 October 2020 | Incumbent | 3 years and 216 days | The Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore | Lord Justice of Appeal (NI) (2017–20) Justice of the High Court (NI) (2007–17) | ||
31 | Lady Rose of Colmworth | 13 April 2021 | Incumbent | 3 years and 21 days | Lady Black of Derwent | Lady Justice of Appeal (2019–21) Justice of the High Court, CD (2013–19) | ||
32 | Lord Richards of Camberwell | 3 October 2022 | Incumbent | 1 year and 214 days | Lady Arden of Heswall | Lord Justice of Appeal (2015–21) Justice of the High Court, CD (2003–15) | ||
33 | Lady Simler | 14 November 2023 | Incumbent | 172 days | Lord Kitchin | Lady Justice of Appeal (2019–23) Justice of the High Court, QBD (2013–19) |
The Court of Appeal is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The Court of Appeal was created in 1875, and today comprises 39 Lord Justices of Appeal and Lady Justices of Appeal.
The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The lord chancellor is appointed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Prior to the union of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain, there were separate lord chancellors for the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. There were Lord Chancellors of Ireland until 1922.
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a trial court and a court of appeal. The court was established in 1532 by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, and was initially presided over by the Lord Chancellor of Scotland and had equal numbers of clergy and laity. The judges were all appointed from the King's Council. As of May 2017, the Lord President was Lord Carloway, who was appointed on 19 December 2015, and the Lord Justice Clerk was Lady Dorrian, who was appointed on 13 April 2016.
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Court building in the Old Town in Edinburgh, or in dedicated buildings in Glasgow and Aberdeen. The High Court sometimes sits in various smaller towns in Scotland, where it uses the local sheriff court building. As an appeal court, the High Court sits only in Edinburgh. On one occasion the High Court of Justiciary sat outside Scotland, at Zeist in the Netherlands during the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, as the Scottish Court in the Netherlands. At Zeist the High Court sat both as a trial court, and an appeal court for the initial appeal by Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
William Douglas Cullen, Baron Cullen of Whitekirk, is a former senior member of the Scottish judiciary. He formerly served as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session, and was an additional Lord of Appeal in the House of Lords prior to the transfer of its judicial functions to the Supreme Court.
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 Dukedom of Edinburgh awarded for life to Prince Edward in 2023, all life peerages conferred since 2009 have been created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 with the rank of baron and entitle their holders to sit and vote in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as age and citizenship. The legitimate children of a life peer appointed under the Life Peerages Act 1958 are entitled to style themselves with the prefix "The Honourable", although they cannot inherit the peerage itself. Prior to 2009, life peers of baronial rank could also be so created under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 for senior judges.
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 Lords, which included acting as the highest appellate court for most domestic matters.
Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond,, is a British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020.
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of the House of Lords and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales from the office of Lord Chancellor.
Lawrence Antony Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury is a British judge and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was also appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 11 April 2011 as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions. He was formerly a partner in the British law firm Herbert Smith. He is now a full time international arbitrator, Chair of Laws at UCL Faculty of Laws, and continues to sit as a member of the HKFCA.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the United Kingdom’s highest appellate court for these matters, it hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.
Donald Sage Mackay, Baron Mackay of Drumadoon, PC was a British judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and a Lord Advocate, the country's senior Law Officer. He was also one of five additional Lords of Appeal in the House of Lords, where he sat as a crossbencher.
The Senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session ; Lords Commissioners of Justiciary ; and the Chairman of the Scottish Land Court. Whilst the High Court and Court of Session historically maintained separate judiciary, these are now identical, and the term Senator is almost exclusively used in referring to the judges of these courts.
Jonathan Hugh Mance, Baron Mance, is a retired British judge who was formerly Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
David Edmond Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury is an English judge. He served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of Lords' judicial functions were transferred to the new Supreme Court in 2009, at which point he became Master of the Rolls, the second most senior judge in England and Wales. Neuberger was appointed to the Supreme Court, as its President, in 2012. He now serves as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and the Chair of the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom.
The judiciaries of the United Kingdom are the separate judiciaries of the three legal systems in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Employment Tribunals, Employment Appeal Tribunal and the UK tribunals system do have a United Kingdom–wide jurisdiction but judgments only apply directly to the jurisdiction from which a case originates as the same case points and principles do not inevitably apply in the other jurisdictions. In employment law, employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal have jurisdiction in the whole of Great Britain.
The President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is equivalent to the now-defunct position of Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, also known as the Senior Law Lord, who was the highest ranking among the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The President is not the most senior judge of the judiciary in England and Wales; that position belongs to the Lord Chief Justice. The current President is Robert Reed, since 13 January 2020.
Robert John Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir, is a Scottish judge 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 of the Court of Session in 2008. He is an authority on human rights law in Scotland and elsewhere; he served as one of the UK's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights. He was also a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are the judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom other than the president and the deputy president of the court. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases from the jurisdictions of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. Judges are appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the prime minister, who receives recommendations from a selection commission.