8 June 2010
17/10
Senior Judicial Appointments
Following consultation with the Lord Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke QC, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, has appointed Lady Justice Hallett DBE to be Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board. She will take over on 1 July from Lord Justice Maurice Kay who steps down after three years in the position.
Lord Judge also announced that Lord Justice Maurice Kay becomes Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) on the retirement of Lord Justice Waller which took effect on 6 May.
ENDS
Biographies
The Rt. Hon. Lady Justice Hallett DBE
Lady Justice Hallett’s term of appointment as Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board is for three years.
Lady Justice Hallett DBE is currently serving as the Coroner conducting the Inquests into the deaths of those killed in the London bombings on 7 July 2005. She was educated at Brockenhurst Grammar School and St Hugh’s College, Oxford. She was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1972 and practised on the South Eastern Circuit in general common law for many years, eventually specialising in crime. She was appointed an Assistant Recorder in 1985. In 1989 she was made a Recorder and appointed Queen’s Counsel. She was made a Bencher of the Inner Temple in 1993. She was elected Leader of the South Eastern Circuit in 1995 and Chairman of the Bar of England and Wales in 1998. In 1999 she was appointed a High Court Judge and Dame Commander of the British Empire. She served as Presiding Judge of the Western Circuit for four years and chaired the Magisterial Committee of the Judicial Studies Board. In 2005 she was appointed to the Court of Appeal and made a Privy Councillor. She is presently Vice-Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission and Reader of the Inner Temple. She will be Treasurer in 2011. She is married with two children.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Maurice Kay
Lord Justice Maurice Kay’s appointment as Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) is for the period of 3 years. He is a member of the Court of Appeal.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay was educated at William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester and Sheffield University. He was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1975 and he was made a Bencher in 1995. He was a Lecturer in Law at Hull University between 1967 and 72, at Manchester University during 1972-3 and was a Professor of Law at Keele University between 1973 and 1982. He practised as a barrister in general common law from 1975-1995; was an Assistant Recorder from 1987-88; and a Recorder from 1988-95. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1988 and a High Court Judge in 1995, becoming the lead judge of the Administrative Court between 2002 and 2003. He served as Presiding Judge of the Wales and Chester Circuit. He was knighted in 1995 and made a Lord Justice of Appeal and Privy Counsellor in 2004. He chaired the Judicial Studies Board for three years from July 2007. He is married with four children.
Notes to Editors:
For further information please contact the Judicial Communications Office on 020 7073 4852, or Email press enquiries
