Ms Justice Harris | |
|---|---|
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| Justice of the High Court | |
| Assumed office 30 September 2024 [1] | |
| Appointed by | Charles III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 September 1974 Coventry,UK |
| Alma mater | Oxford University University of British Columbia |
Dame Sonia Ruth Harris, DBE , KC (born 12 September 1974) is a British High Court Judge. [2] [3]
Harris attended Coventry Blue Coat Church of England School. [4] In 1993,she received a BA law degree in jurisprudence from Christ Church,Oxford,graduating with first-class honours. [5] In 2009,she subsequently earned an LLM degree at the Peter A. Allard School of Law of the University of British Columbia. [6] [7] Harris had a visiting appointment at University of Victoria,Canada and University of New South Wales,Australia supported by a British Academy research grant. [8]
Harris was called to the bar (Lincoln's Inn) in 1998. From 1999 to 2006 she was a senior lecturer at Durham University. [9] From 2006 to 2014 she was Reader and then Professor of Family Law and Policy at Birmingham School of Law. [10] Between 2012 and 2014 she was head of Birmingham University's Centre for Employability,Professional Legal Education and Research (CEPLER). [11] While at Birmingham she was an Honorary Door Tenant at St Philips Chambers. [12] In 2008 she became director of the Birmingham Law School LLM Programme. [13] Between January and April 2010,she was a visiting scholar at the Stockholm University. [14] In 2012 she was appointed special advisor to the House of Lords' Select Committee on Adoption. [15] She is an honorary Professor at Birmingham University. [16]
In 2010 Harris was appointed as a Deputy District Judge. In 2014 she was appointed as District Judge. [17] In 2018 she was appointed as Circuit Judge and was authorised to sit as a High Court Judge in the Family Division. In 2019 she was appointed the designated family judge for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. In 2024 she was appointed Senior Circuit Judge and designated family judge at Wolverhampton Combined Court Centre. [18] Harris was on the advisory group of the Children's Rights Judgement. [19] She is a member of the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges and the International Association of Women Judges. [20]
On 30 September 2024,Harris was appointed a judge of the Family Division of the High Court following several retirements. [3] [21] She received the customary damehood in 2025. [22]
Harris has contributed articles to:
"Specialist Advisor: Professor Sonia Harris-Short, Professor of Family Law and Policy, University of Birmingham
For brevity, the words "Mr/Mrs Justice" has been omitted from judges' titles. | ||
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