Nick Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers
Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG, GBS, PC[2] (born 21 January 1938) is a British former senior judge.
The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers | |||||||||
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 Parliamentary portrait of The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers | |||||||||
| President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 1 October 2009 – 30 September 2012 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Jack Straw | ||||||||
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Deputy | The Lord Hope of Craighead | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Office created | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury | ||||||||
| Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |||||||||
| In office 1 October 2008 – 30 September 2009 | |||||||||
| Deputy | The Lord Hoffmann The Lord Hope of Craighead | ||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Bingham of Cornhill | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Office abolished | ||||||||
| Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales | |||||||||
| In office 3 October 2005 – 30 September 2008 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Lord Falconer | ||||||||
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Woolf | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Judge | ||||||||
| Master of the Rolls | |||||||||
| In office 6 June 2000 – 3 October 2005 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Woolf | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony | ||||||||
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |||||||||
| In office 12 January 1999 – 6 June 2000 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Lloyd of Berwick | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Scott of Foscote | ||||||||
| Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong | |||||||||
| In office 1 October 2012 – 30 September 2024 | |||||||||
| Appointed by | Leung Chun-ying | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | 21 January 1938[1] | ||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||
| Spouse | Christylle Marie-Thérèse Rouffiac | ||||||||
| Children | 2, including Marie | ||||||||
| Residence(s) | Hampstead, London | ||||||||
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 范理申 | ||||||||
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Phillips was the inaugural President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, holding office between October 2009 and October 2012. He was the last Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and the first Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales to be head of the English judiciary when that function was transferred from the Lord Chancellor in April 2006.[3] Before his chief justiceship, he was Master of the Rolls from 2000 to 2005. He sits as a crossbencher.
Early life
editPhillips was born 21 January 1938. He was educated at Bryanston School (where he was appointed a governor of the school in 1975, he has been chairman of its governors since 1981). He undertook National Service with the Royal Navy and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, being commissioned as an officer.[4]
After two years' military service he went to King's College, Cambridge, where he read law. In 1962, he was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple, where he was a Harmsworth Scholar. He undertook pupillage at 2 Essex Court Chambers (with the Anglo-American QC, Waldo Porges) and subsequently obtained a tenancy there, later moving to 1 Brick Court (now Brick Court Chambers). In 1973, he was appointed as Junior Counsel to the Ministry of Defence and to the Treasury in Maritime and Admiralty matters. On 4 April 1978, he became Queen's Counsel.[5]
Judicial career
editIn 1982, Phillips was appointed a Recorder and from 1987 was a full-time High Court Judge on the Queen's Bench Division, with the customary knighthood.[4] He took an interest in legal training, and was Chairman of the Council of Legal Education from 1992 to 1997.[4] He presided over several complex fraud trials including those covering the Robert Maxwell pension fund fraud and Barlow Clowes.[6] In 1995, he became a Lord Justice of Appeal and was appointed to the Privy Council.[4]
On 12 January 1999, he was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary[7] and created a Life Peer under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 as Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, of Belsize Park in the London Borough of Camden.[8]
He then succeeded Harry, Lord Woolf as Master of the Rolls on 6 June 2000.[9] He conducted an inquiry into the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.[10] He served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2005 to 2008, when he was reappointed as a Law Lord.[4]
Since 2008, Phillips was the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until he became the first president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009.[4]
Queen Elizabeth II elevated him as a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter on 23 April 2011.[11]
On 11 October 2011, Phillips announced his retirement on 30 September 2012, almost four months before the mandatory retirement age for British judges at turning 75 on 21 January 2013.[12]
After retiring from the bench, Phillips followed Woolf as president of the Qatar International Court at Doha[13] He served on the court from 2012 to 2018.[4] He also acts as an arbitrator.[6]
In March 2012, the Government of Hong Kong SAR appointed Phillips as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.[4] He also serves as President of the British Maritime Law Association and Chairman of the European Maritime Law Organisation.[14][4]
On 30 September 2024, Lord Phillips announced that he will step down as a non-permanent judge of Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal after the end of his term on that day, due to personal reasons.[15]
Personal life
editPhillips is married to Christylle Marie-Thérèse Rouffiac, and lives in Hampstead, London. One of his two children is novelist Marie Phillips.
Phillips is a member of Brooks's and the Garrick Clubs.[4] He was also appointed the inaugural Distinguished Fellow and visiting professor of The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London.[16]
He received honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws (Hon. LLD) from Exeter (1998), Birmingham (2003), London (2004), Wake Forest University (2010), and the International Institute of Maritime Law, and of Doctor of Civil Law (Hon. DCL) from City University, London (2003).[4]
Phillips served as Chancellor of Bournemouth University from 2009 until 2018, being succeeded by broadcaster and author Kate Adie.[17]
Arms
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See also
editDecided cases
- Great Peace Shipping Ltd v Tsavliris (International) Ltd [2003] QB 679
- Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson [2004] 1 AC 919
- Moore Stephens v Stone Rolls Ltd (in liq) [2009] 1 AC 1391
- R v Gnango [2012] 1 AC 827
References
edit- ^ "Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 21 January 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, President of The Supreme Court, 2009–12, 76
- ^ Society of Editors — Press regulation: Group of six appointed, King's College (Cambridge) Law Society guest list & Remarks at 2011 Annual Meeting of The American Law Institute, p. 3 (Accessed 5 April 2018)
- ^ 23 July 2009 The Times Law 100, 2009[dead link] "No surprise, probably, that Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers takes the No 1 slot."
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Phillips of Worth Matravers, Baron, (Nicholas Addison Phillips) (born 21 January 1938)". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u30733. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "No. 47505". The London Gazette. 6 April 1978. p. 4164.
- ^ a b "Lord Phillips | Brick Court Chambers". www.brickcourt.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ Beamish, David. "Lords of Appeal in Ordinary 1876–2009". Peerages. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
- ^ "No. 55376". The London Gazette. 15 January 1999. p. 479.
- ^ "No. 55870". The London Gazette. 9 June 2000. p. 6308.
- ^ "BSE victims to get millions". The Guardian. 22 October 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- ^ "Lord Phillips and Admiral Boyce made Knights of Garter". BBC News. 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Retiring Supreme Court president defends human rights". BBC News. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ Phillips, Nicholas A. (April 2012). "Article of Lord Phillips". International Review of Law. 2012 (1). Qscience.com: 3. doi:10.5339/irl.2012.3.
- ^ "BMLA Officers". British Maritime Law Association. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ Grundy, Tom (30 September 2024). "UK's Nicholas Phillips steps down as Hong Kong's top court judge". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP.
- ^ "Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers". kcl.ac.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Broadcaster and author Kate Adie begins tenure as new BU Chancellor". bournemouth.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
External links
edit- Dyer, Clare, He pointed a finger where it ought to be pointed. He didn't go over the top ... He has shown himself to be politic, The Guardian, 23 September 2005.
- BSE enquiry, UK Government
- Ministry of Justice: President, Supreme Court
- Phillips interviewed by ReConstitution, sharing views on the new UK's Supreme Court and the role of the Judiciary.
- Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 7 February 2014 (video)