Who are the Brexit appeal judges?
Exceptionally all 11 of the UK’s Supreme Court justices are sitting in this week’s Brexit appeal case, an indication of how seriously the matter is being taken.
The bench of 11 judges is the largest to sit on a case since the law lords – as the highest UK appeal court was called before the creation of the Supreme Court in 2009 – were established in 1876.
The court normally sits in panels of five; an odd number is usual to ensure there cannot be a tie.
At the start of this week’s historic Brexit case court, president Lord Neuberger, who has been a judge since 1990, noted that all of the people involved in the case had been asked if they objected to any of the judges sitting on the case. They had not done so – leaving them free to sit at their full complement.
London-born, Lord Neuberger became a barrister and then QC after originally studying chemistry at Oxford, following in the footsteps of his father who was a professor of chemistry at London University. He was appointed a law lord in 2007.
His deputy Lady Hale is the only woman to have been appointed a law lord (in 2004) and is the most senior female judge in the history of the UK. Born in Yorkshire with parents who were both teachers, the former law professor and part-time barrister was made a QC in 1989 and became a judge in the same year.
The other judges include two Scottish judges, Lords Hodge and Reed, and a former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Lord Kerr. Their biographies can all be found at: Supreme Court justices.
There are usually 12 law lords, but one has recently retired and is yet to be replaced.
Usually, when a vacancy comes up, an independent selection commission is set up, including representatives from the different legal systems of the UK – England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Candidates must have been a High Court judge for two years or a practising lawyer for at least 15 years.
Once chosen they are formally appointed by the Queen on the advice of the prime minister.
