President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Post	President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Incumbent	Lord Reed
Incumbentsince	13 January 2020
Style	The Right Honourable
Residence	Middlesex Guildhall
Appointer	Monarch
Formation	2009
Inaugural	Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers

President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the senior judge and administrative head of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and presides over its deliberations, representing the Court in relations with the Monarch, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the Lord Chancellor, and international judiciaries such as the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union. The office coordinates the work of Justices drawn from the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the House of Lords, and senior judges from jurisdictions including Scotland and Northern Ireland, and plays a central role in constitutional litigation concerning the Human Rights Act 1998, the European Communities Act 1972, and devolution statutes such as the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006.

Role and functions

The President chairs panels of Justices in cases involving disputes between the United Kingdom devolved administrations—Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru, and the Northern Ireland Assembly—and central authorities like the Treasury and the Home Office, and leads on procedural rules that affect appeals from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the High Court of Justiciary, and the Court of Session. The person in office liaises with the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Lord President of the Court of Session, the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and international figures such as the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the United States on matters of comparative jurisprudence, judicial independence, and administrative reform. The President also engages with bodies including the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Ministry of Justice, the Bar Council, and the Advocates General for Scotland on recruitment, training, and welfare of judges.

History and establishment

The office was created by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 as part of a reform that separated the judicial functions of the House of Lords from the legislative role of the Parliament of the United Kingdom; the inaugural holder, elevated from the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, became the first head of the newly constituted Supreme Court when it opened in Middlesex Guildhall in 2009. The establishment followed controversies involving figures such as Lord Irvine of Lairg and reforms advocated by Tony Blair and critiqued by commentators including A. V. Dicey scholars and civil libertarians aligned with Liberty (organisation). The office’s conception drew on comparative models like the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Supreme Court of the United States, while responding to constitutional episodes including the Belmarsh case and debates over the Human Rights Act 1998.

Appointment and tenure

The President is appointed by the Monarch on the recommendation of a selection commission constituted under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which includes members from the Judicial Appointments Commission, the Bar Council, the Law Society of England and Wales, and lay members nominated by the Lord Chancellor. Candidates typically are serving Justices of the Supreme Court or senior judges from the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the Court of Session, or the High Court of Northern Ireland, with earlier officeholders drawn from figures such as Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers and Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury. Tenure lasts until the statutory retirement age for judges, subject to resignation or elevation to other offices; historically, holders have been knighted or ennobled, reflecting traditions tied to the Order of the Bath and other honours like the Privy Council.

Powers and responsibilities

The President allocates cases, chairs panels that decide on points involving the Human Rights Act 1998, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Equality Act 2010, and major constitutional disputes such as those arising from the Brexit process and the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Administrative powers include responsibility for the Supreme Court’s budget, staffing, and court rules in coordination with the Ministry of Justice and the Lord Chancellor, and public duties like delivering judgments, giving public lectures at institutions such as the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and the London School of Economics, and representing the Court in engagements with international tribunals and legal associations including the International Court of Justice and the International Bar Association.

List of officeholders

- Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers (inaugural, 2009) — previously Master of the Rolls and member of the House of Lords. - Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury — formerly Master of the Rolls and President of the Family Division. - Lord Reed — current incumbent, previously a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and advocate in the Court of Session. (For fuller chronological lists consult records of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and announcements from the Ministry of Justice and the Crown Office.)

Notable judgments and influence

Presidents have presided over landmark rulings including decisions touching on the Miller v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union litigation, the prorogation case involving R (Miller) v The Prime Minister, devolution disputes such as those related to the Scotland Act 1998 and the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, and human rights jurisprudence under the Human Rights Act 1998. These judgments have influenced debate in fora ranging from the House of Commons and the House of Lords to the European Court of Human Rights and academic venues such as the Oxford Union and the Institute for Government, shaping doctrines on parliamentary sovereignty, prorogation, and separation of powers.

Category:Judiciary of the United Kingdom Category:Supreme Court of the United Kingdom