Description
Justice of the Supreme Court, The Right Hon Lord Stephens of Creevyloughgare
Judging in the Modern Age
On 1st October 2020 Lord (Ben) Stephens was appointed as a Justice of the UK Supreme Court and in a statement of welcome Lord Reed, President of the Supreme Court stated the following:
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome the announcement of Lord Justice Stephens’s appointment as a Justice of the UK Supreme Court.
“We look forward to his making a significant contribution to the work of the Court and the development of the law, drawing on the extensive experience which he has gained from a distinguished judicial career.”
So, what is the UK Supreme Court?
In October 2009, The Supreme Court replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the United Kingdom.
The Supreme Court’s 12 Justices maintain the highest standards set by the Appellate Committee, but are now explicitly separate from both Government and Parliament.
The Court hears appeals on arguable points of law of the greatest public importance, for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases, and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases.
Additionally, it hears cases on devolution matters under the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006. This jurisdiction was transferred to the Supreme Court from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
The Supreme Court sits in the former Middlesex Guildhall, on the western side of Parliament Square.
So, as a retired JP for me to welcome to TLC such an eminent member of the Judiciary and particularly to get his thoughts on Judging in the Modern Age is an enormous pleasure.
Biography
Lord Stephens was educated at Manchester University. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1977, the Bar of England and Wales in July 1978 and to the Bar of Ireland in 1996.
He took Silk in 1996. He was a senior member of the Government Civil Panel of Counsel from 2004 to January 2007. He held several positions at the Bar including Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland and Vice Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland.
He was appointed as a High Court Judge in Northern Ireland in 2007. He was assigned to the Family Division from 2008 and to the Queen’s Bench Division from 2014.
He was Hague Convention Liaison judge for international cases involving child abduction between 2008 and 2014 and also served as Chairman of the Council of Law Reporting for Northern Ireland.
He was a Commissioner in the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission between 2013 and 2020, first as a High Court Judge and then as a Lord Justice of Appeal. He was a Senior Lord Justice of Appeal from 2017 to 2020.
