The announcement follows a string of upcoming judicial departures across the UK
UK Supreme Court president Robert Reed has announced that he plans to retire on January 10, 2027.
He has presided over the court since January 13, 2020. To determine Reed’s successor, lord chancellor David Lammy is expected to establish an independent selection commission under parliament rules.
Reed was first appointed to the Supreme Court bench on February 6, 2012. He became deputy president of the court on June 7, 2018 before succeeding Brenda Hale as president and becoming a life peer.
As president, Reed spearheaded initiatives to bolster bilateral connections with foreign supreme courts and jurisdictions. He supervised the court sitting outside London and reinstated the practice of having judges from JCPC jurisdictions sit on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council during appeals hearings.
For 13 years, he was a senior judge in Scotland and was part of the Inner House of the Court of Session from 2008 to 2012. From 1998 to 2008, he was a member of the Outer House of the Court of Session and was principal commercial judge.
Reed sits on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and is also on the panel of ad hoc judges of the European Court of Human Rights. He is Oxford University’s High Steward.
Reed’s retirement announcement follows a wave of judicial departures in the UK over the past week. Victoria Sharp, president of the King’s Bench Division, revealed on January 14 that she was retiring from the role and as senior judge in October.
Sharp was the first woman to oversee the King’s Bench division, which comprises over 70 judges and is the UK High Court’s biggest division. She introduced livestreaming in the Court of Appeal and the broadcasting of Crown court sentences. Moreover, she served as deputy criminal justice head as the criminal courts continued sitting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Master of the rolls Geoffrey Vos also said on January 12 that he was retiring on October 31. The civil justice head presides over the Court of Appeal’s civil division and chairs the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce and International Jurisdiction Taskforce.
He is on the LawtechUK Panel and has championed initiatives to modernize and digitalize UK courts. Last year, he encouraged the legal profession to embrace artificial intelligence.
“Sir Geoffrey retires at the end of October after a long and distinguished judicial career, including four years as Chancellor of the High Court and almost six years as Master of the Rolls. He has been a tireless advocate for a modern and digitised civil justice system, setting a progressive course and encouraging court users and the judiciary to follow,” said Sue Carr, UK lady chief justice, in a statement. “He spoke enthusiastically of blockchain, AI and cryptocurrencies well before the terms were commonplace, and he has long been a (and was possibly the first) paperless judge, demonstrating digital justice in action.”
