Queen appoints two new justices to Supreme Court
Lord Lloyd-Jones has been re-appointed to the UK Supreme Court as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and Sir David Richards has been appointed as a Justice to fill the vacancy created by Lady Arden's retirement.
Both appointees were able to apply to the roles following the increase of the mandatory retirement age for judicial office holders from 70 to 75 in March 2022.
The appointments were made by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, following the recommendations of an independent selection commission.
The commission consulted across each of the Supreme Court's three United Kingdom jurisdictions before making its recommendations, which were welcomed yesterday (17 August) by the President of the Supreme Court, The Right Hon The Lord Reed of Allermuir.
Lord Reed said: "We look forward to welcoming Lord Lloyd-Jones back to his position as a Justice. Following his retirement in January 2022, having reached the then mandatory retirement age of 70 shortly before it was increased by Parliament to 75, he has continued to hear cases as a member of the Court's Supplementary Panel. He will continue to make an enormously valuable contribution to the Court on a wide range of cases, and especially in dealing with appeals in the field of international law and criminal law."
"We are also delighted that Sir David Richards will be joining us as a Justice of the Court. His outstanding legal ability and breadth of experience, notably in company law and corporate insolvency, will maintain the Court's expertise in these areas following Lady Arden's retirement, and will be invaluable in maintaining the high quality of our judgments and our reputation as an international centre of legal excellence."
The Right Hon Lord Lloyd-Jones was appointed to the High Court in 2005. From 2008 to 2011, he served as a Presiding Judge on the Wales Circuit and Chair of the Lord Chancellor's Standing Committee on the Welsh Language.
In 2012 he was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal, and from 2012 to 2015 he was Chairman of the Law Commission. He was appointed as the inaugural President of the Law Council of Wales in October 2021.
Lord Lloyd-Jones first served as a Justice of the Supreme Court between October 2017 and January 2022. He was the first Justice of the Supreme Court to come from Wales.
Sir David Anthony Stewart Richards was appointed a deputy High Court Judge in 2001, a High Court Judge (Chancery Division) in 2003, a chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in 2004 and chairman of the Insolvency Rules Committee from 2005 to 2015. He was the Chancery Supervising Judge for the Northern and North Eastern Circuits and Vice–Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster from 2008 to 2011.
Sir David was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal and made a Privy Counsellor in 2015. He retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal after reaching the then mandatory retirement age of 70 in June 2021.
Adam Carey