Appointment of new Senior Presiding Judge

The Lord Chief Justice has announced the appointment of Lord Justice Gross as Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales, with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, from 1 January 2013. Lord Justice (Sir Peter) Gross is currently Deputy Senior Presiding Judge, and he will succeed Lord Justice Goldring, whose three year term of office comes to an end on 31 December 2012. The role of Senior Presiding Judge (SPJ) is a wide-ranging one: as well as being a Board member of HM Courts and Tribunal Service, the SPJ oversees the work of Presiding Judges on each Circuit in England and Wales. This entails overall responsibility for the deployment of work in the courts, dealing with personnel issues for judges below High Court level, liaison with magistrates and providing a general point of liaison between the judiciary, the courts and Government departments.

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Notes for Editors

Lord Justice (Peter) Gross was called to the Bar in 1977 (Gray’s Inn) and made a Bencher in 2000. He took Silk in 1992 and was a Recorder from 1995 until 2001. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) in 2001 and a Presiding Judge of the SE Circuit from 2005 – 2008. He served as Judge in charge of the Commercial Court 2009-10 and in 2010 was appointed to the Court of Appeal. He was appointed Deputy Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales in October 2011.