Baroness Hale to become first female President of Supreme Court
Baroness Hale of Richmond is to become the first female President of the UK Supreme Court, succeeding Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury in October this year.
The Supreme Court will have three new justices as well: Lady Justice Black, Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Lord Justice Briggs.
Seven new Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal have also been announced. They are:
- Mrs Justice Asplin
- Mr Justice Coulson
- Mr Justice Holroyde
- Mr Justice Peter Jackson
- Mr Justice Leggatt
- Mr Justice Newey and
- Mr Justice Singh.
These appointments will fill forthcoming vacancies in the Court of Appeal arising from autumn 2017.
Lady Hale became the first female Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in January 2004. She has been Deputy President of the Supreme Court since June 2013.
She said: "It is a great honour and a challenge to be appointed to succeed Lord Neuberger. I look forward to building upon his pioneering achievements, including developing closer links with each part of the United Kingdom, for example by sitting outside London, and improving the ways in which we communicate our work to the public.
“Recent high-profile cases mean that more people than ever before have heard of the Supreme Court, and we hope that this will help to create a broader understanding of how the judiciary serves society.”
Lady Hale added: "While I of course look forward to working alongside all my colleagues, it is a particular pleasure for me to be taking up the post at the same time as we welcome only the second ever woman to sit on the UK's top appeal court.”
Lord Neuberger said: "I have had the pleasure of working closely with Lady Hale over the last five years, and have seen at first hand the intellect and humanity with which she approaches the appeals which come before her, as well as her commitment to the rule of law, legal education and building public understanding of the work of the courts.
"For Lady Hale to become President of the institution to which she has contributed so much is a fitting pinnacle to a truly ground-breaking career. She is joined by three new Justices, each of whom has led a distinguished judicial career and has a huge amount to offer the Court and the development of the law.”
Lady Hale's appointment means that a new Deputy President will now be appointed.