Lord Neuberger to be president of Supreme Court

Lord Neuberger, the current Master of the Rolls, will be the next president of the Supreme Court, Downing Street announced this morning.

Lord Phillips retires as president on 30 September 2012, and Lord Neuberger will be sworn in at a special ceremony the following day.

Lord Neuberger, who is 64, turned down the offer to be one of the inaugural justices when the Supreme Court was set up in 2009 and became Master of the Rolls instead, replacing Lord Clarke.

Born on 10 January 1948 David Neuberger became a QC in 1987 and was appointed a High Court judge in 1996. He joined the Court of Appeal in 2004 and was made a law lord in 2007.

He led an investigation for the Bar Council into widening access to the barristers’ profession in 2006-7 and chaired a committee which reported in 2011 on practice and procedure relating to super-injunctions.

Lord Neuberger was appointed president of the Supreme Court by The Queen, on advice of the prime minister and Lord Chancellor, following the recommendation of an independent selection commission chaired by Lord Phillips.

Lord Phillips said this morning: “Identifying a successor to lead the Supreme Court into the next phase of its life was inevitably a task I approached with mixed feelings – a degree of pride in preparing to hand over leadership of an organisation which has maintained a smooth and efficient service as the UK’s highest court following the significant changes brought about by the Constitutional Reform Act, but also an element of sadness in leaving that same organisation.

“But in Lord Neuberger I know we have an extremely talented new president, who brings not only a wealth of judicial experience but the ability to lead a collegiate court.”

Lord Neuberger said: “The UK Supreme Court, like its predecessor, the appellate committee of the House of Lords, is rightly respected throughout the world.

“Together with the other members of the court, I will do my best to ensure that it continues to play its proper role in upholding the rule of law, and applying and developing the law in a coherent and principled and practical way, appropriate for today’s world.”

In addition to his judicial responsibilities for appeals to the Supreme Court and the judicial committee of the Privy Council, the president is responsible for leading discussions with the Lord Chancellor over policy and resources for the court and may appear in parliament before select committees.