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Sir Adrian Fulford | |
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| Investigatory Powers Commissioner | |
| In office 3 March 2017 – October 2019 | |
| Nominated by | The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd asLord Chief Justice |
| Appointed by | Theresa May asPrime Minister |
| Lord Justice of Appeal | |
| In office 10 May 2013 – 1 October 2022 | |
| Nominated by | David Cameron asPrime Minister |
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
| Judge of the International Criminal Court | |
| In office 11 March 2003 – 31 August 2012 | |
| Nominated by | The Lord Irvine of Lairg asLord Chancellor |
| Appointed by | Assembly of States Parties |
| High Court judge Queen's Bench Division | |
| In office 2002–2013 | |
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Adrian Bruce Fulford (1953-01-08)8 January 1953 (age 72) |
| Alma mater | University of Southampton |
Sir Adrian Bruce FulfordPC (born 8 January 1953)[1] is a retiredLord Justice of Appeal. From 2017 to 2019, he was the firstInvestigatory Powers Commissioner,[2] and was the Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in 2019, succeedingLady Justice Hallett.[3]
Previously, he was a judge of theInternational Criminal Court inThe Hague from 2003–12, theSenior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from January 2016 to March 2017, and former member of theNational Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL).
Fulford was born on 8 January 1953. He was educated atElizabeth College, Guernsey and went up to theUniversity of Southampton, gaining aLLB. From 1974 to 1975, he served as a housing advisor at Shelter's Housing Aid Service.[1]
He wascalled to the bar at theMiddle Temple as abarrister in 1978, and appointedQueen's Counsel in 1994.[1]
One of Fulford’s earliest, and most prominent cases was serving as barrister toMr Ronnie Bolden, on trial at the Old Bailey in 1989 charged with armed robbery by the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad (SCS), which was later disbanded.
In 1995, Fulford was made aRecorder of theCrown Court (re-appointed in 2001). His appointment as aHigh Court judge on 21 November 2002[4] was only the second such appointment of an openly homosexual QC,[5][6] and the first to theKing's Bench Division (then called the Queen's Bench Division).[citation needed].
He was appointed to theQueen's Bench Division and received the customaryknighthood. Though he became a judge of theInternational Criminal Court in 2003, Fulford continued his work at the High Court, presiding over a number of high-profile cases. Among these were the21 July 2005 London bombings trial,[7] an extremist Muslim plot to cause deadly explosions similar to those which killed over 50 people on 7 July; the trial of terrorist plotterSaajid Badat;[8] and thetrial of PC Simon Harwood for the death of a street newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson in the City of London. Fulford's term on the ICC ended on 11 March 2012.
On 11 May 2012, Fulford imposed awhole life order on David Oakes, who was convicted at the Crown Court at Chelmsford of the premeditated and sadistic murder of his former partner and daughter. Fulford also presided over the trial of Jiervon Barlett and Najed Hoque who were accused of the manslaughter of Paula Castle, a woman mugged inGreenford, West London. He sentenced them to 13 years.[9][10]
Fulford received the UK Government's nomination, and was subsequently elected in 2003 to serve, as one of 18judges of theInternational Criminal Court for a term of nine years, and was assigned to the Trial Division.[11] He was sworn into office on 11 March 2003.[12] Fulford presided over the ICC's first trial, that ofThomas Lubanga,[13] and in that capacity delivered the court's first guilty verdict on 14 March 2012.[14]
On 10 May 2013, Fulford was appointed aLord Justice of Appeal.[15]
In March 2014, theMail on Sunday printed allegations that Fulford had been a supporter of thePedophile Information Exchange (PIE) in the 1970s. He denied the allegation.[16] Following this allegation, he stepped down from judging criminal cases and an official investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office took place. The investigation, byLord Kerr of Tonaghmore, concluded on 18 June 2014 that the allegations against Fulford were "without substance" and he "was not and had never been a supporter of PIE or its aims". Following his exoneration, Fulford resumed sitting as a judge on the full range of appeals.[citation needed]
Fulford was appointed as the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2015, and was promoted to Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2016 succeedingPeter Gross. On 31 March 2017, Fulford stood down from this position, to accept appointment as the firstInvestigatory Powers Commissioner in which role he will be supported by fifteen senior judges appointed under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.[17]
In 2021, he presided over the sentencing of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to themurder of Sarah Everard. Sentencing him at theOld Bailey to awhole-life tariff,[18] Fulford described the case as "devastating, tragic and wholly brutal"[19] and told Couzens he had eroded public confidence in the police.[20]
On 1 October 2022, Fulford retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal.[21]
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