Press release: Appointment of Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal: 27 June 2018

The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Mrs Justice Nicola Davies, Mrs Justice Rose and Mrs Justice Simler as Lady Justices of Appeal and the following as Lord Justices of Appeal: Mr Justice Baker, Mr Justice Green, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave and Mr Justice Males.

These appointments will fill current and forthcoming vacancies in the Court of Appeal.

Further information

These appointments are to be made in light of the appointment of Sir Andrew McFarlane as the President of the Family Division, forthcoming appointments to the Supreme Court and retirements from the Court of Appeal.

The appointment of Lord and Lady Justices of the Court of Appeal are made by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor following the recommendation of an independent selection panel.

Notes for Editors

The selection panel was chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon. The other panel members were Sir Terence Etherton, the Master of the Rolls; Lord Kakkar, the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission; and two lay Commissioners of the Judicial Appointments Commission: Dame Valerie Strachan and Mr Andrew Kennon.

In accordance with section 79 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013, the panel determined the selection process to be followed. In accordance with s10(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, the selection exercise was open to applicants that satisfied the judicial eligibility condition on a 7 year basis or were Judges of the High Court.

Biographical notes

Sir Jonathan Baker: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1978 and took Silk in 2001. He was appointed a Recorder in 2000 and a High Court Judge in the Family Division in 2009. He was the Family Division Liaison Judge on the Western Circuit from 2011 until 2017. He was appointed as the Senior Family Liaison Judge in October 2017.

Dame Nicola Davies DBE: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1976 and took Silk in 1992; she was made a Bencher in 2001. She was appointed a Recorder in 1998 and a Deputy High Court Judge in 2003. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2010. In 2012 she was appointed a Senior Liaison Judge for Diversity. She was Chair of the Equal Treatment Advisory Committee of the Judicial College in 2012 and Chair of the Lord Chancellor’s Standing Committee for the Welsh Language 2016-2017. She was appointed as a Presiding Judge of the Wales Circuit in 2014.

Sir Charles Haddon-Cave: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1978 (and Hong Kong in 1980) and took Silk in 1999; he was made a Bencher in 2003. He was appointed a Recorder in 2000. He conducted the Nimrod Inquiry from 2007 to 2009. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2011. He was Chair of the Advocacy Training Council 2007-2011, Master of Education at Gray’s Inn 2012-2016, Chair of the Judicial College International Committee 2013-2017 and a member of the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee since 2018. He was a Presiding Judge for the Midland Circuit from 2014 until 2017. He was appointed Judge in Charge of the Terrorist List in 2017.

Sir Nicholas Green: Called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1986 and took Silk in 1998. He was appointed a Recorder in 2004. He was Chairman of the Bar Council in 2010 and Chairman of the Advocacy Training Council 2011-2015. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2013. He was appointed as a Presiding Judge for the South Eastern Circuit in 2017.

Sir Stephen Males: Called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1978 and took Silk in 1998. He was made a Bencher in 2007. He was appointed a Recorder in 2000 and authorised as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Administrative Court and Commercial Court in 2008. He was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2012. He was appointed a Presiding Judge for the North Eastern Circuit in 2015.

Dame Vivien Rose DBE: Called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1984. After ten years in private practice as a barrister she joined the Government Legal Service in 1996. She worked as an advisory lawyer in HM Treasury until the end of 2001; was promoted to the Senior Civil Service as a legal advisor in the Ministry of Defence and between 2005 and 2008 she worked as Deputy Counsel in the Office of Counsel to Speaker of the House of Commons. She was appointed a chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal in 2005 and as a judge of the Charities Tribunal (later the First-tier Tribunal (Charities)) in 2008. She sat as a Recorder between 2010 and 2013. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division in 2013 and became President of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) in 2015.

Dame Ingrid Simler DBE: Called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1987 and took Silk in 2006. She was appointed a Recorder in 2002 and was authorised to sit as a Deputy High Court Judge. She was appointed a High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2013 and she became President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in 2016.