The Lord Reed of Allermuir | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2022 | |||||||||
| President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| Assumed office 13 January 2020 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | David Gauke | ||||||||
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III | ||||||||
| Deputy | Lord Hodge Lord Sales | ||||||||
| Preceded by | The Baroness Hale of Richmond | ||||||||
| Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 7 June 2018 – 13 January 2020 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | David Gauke | ||||||||
| President | The Baroness Hale of Richmond | ||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Mance | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lord Hodge | ||||||||
| Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 6 February 2012 – 7 June 2018 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Kenneth Clarke | ||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Rodger of Earlsferry | ||||||||
| Senator of the College of Justice | |||||||||
| In office 1998–2012 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Tony Blair | ||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Member of the House of Lords | |||||||||
| Life peerage 11 January 2020[a] | |||||||||
| Non-Permanent Judge of theCourt of Final Appeal of Hong Kong | |||||||||
| In office 31 May 2017 – 30 March 2022 | |||||||||
| Appointed by | Leung Chun-ying | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Robert John Reed (1956-09-07)7 September 1956 (age 69) Edinburgh, Scotland | ||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Jane Mylne, Lady Reed | ||||||||
| Education | George Watson's College | ||||||||
| Alma mater |
| ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 韋彥德 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Robert John Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir,PC, FRSE (born 7 September 1956) is a Scottishjudge who has beenPresident of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom since January 2020. He was the principal judge in the Commercial Court in Scotland before being promoted to theInner House of theCourt of Session in 2008. He is an authority onhuman rights law in Scotland and elsewhere; he served as one of the UK'sad hoc judges at theEuropean Court of Human Rights. He was also a Non-Permanent Judge of theCourt of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.
Reed was educated atGeorge Watson's College in Edinburgh (where he wasdux), and studied at theSchool of Law of theUniversity of Edinburgh, taking afirst-class honoursLLB degree and winning a Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He then obtained aDPhil degree atBalliol College, Oxford, with a doctoral thesis on "Legal Control of Government Assistance to Industry",[1] and was admitted to theFaculty of Advocates in 1983.[2][3]
Reed was Standing Junior Counsel to theScottish Education Department from 1988 to 1989, and to theScottish Office Home and Health Department from 1989 to 1995. He was appointedQueen's Counsel in 1995, andAdvocate Depute in 1996. He was appointed aSenator of the College of Justice, a judge of theCourt of Session andHigh Court of Justiciary, the country'sCollege of Justice, in 1998, with the judicial titleLord Reed. He sat initially as a Judge of theOuter House, becoming Principal Commercial Judge in 2006. He has been one of the United Kingdom'sad hoc judges at theEuropean Court of Human Rights,[4] and sat in the Grand Chamber judgements on the appeals ofthe killers of James Bulger in 1999.
Between 2002 and 2004, Reed was an expert advisor to the EU/Council of Europe Joint Initiative with Turkey. He was promoted to theInner House (First Division) in 2008, and appointed to thePrivy Council.[2][3] He sat on theUK Supreme Court during the illness ofLord Rodger of Earlsferry, along withLord Clarke,[5] and succeeded Lord Rodger.[6]
He has been Chairman of the Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee since 2005, and was President of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment from 2006 to 2008, now serving as Vice-President. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law from 2001 to 2006, and of the UN Task Force on Access to Justice since 2006. He is Convener of the charity Children in Scotland (since 2006) and Chairman of theUniversity of Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law (since 2008). He has been an Honorary Professor of Law atGlasgow Caledonian University since 2005, and theSchool of Law of theUniversity of Glasgow since 2006.[2][3]
On 20 December 2011, it was announced that Reed would replace the late Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as aJustice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.[7] He was sworn in on 6 February 2012.[8]
Lord Reed was Convener of the Children in Scotland Board from February 2006–March 2012.On 31 May 2017, he assumed office as a Non-Permanent Judge of theCourt of Final Appeal of Hong Kong.[9] Reed was appointedDeputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in May 2018, succeedingLord Mance on his retirement. He was sworn into the new position on 6 June 2018.[10]
On 25 January 2019, he was made an Honorary Fellow ofThe Academy of Experts in recognition of his contribution and work for Expert Witnesses.On 24 July 2019, the Queen declared her intention to appoint himPresident of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and to raise him topeerage. He succeededBaroness Hale of Richmond as president on 11 January 2020 on her retirement,[11] and on the same day was created alife peer asBaron Reed of Allermuir, ofSundridge Park in theLondon Borough of Bromley.[12] He was sworn in as president on 13 January and introduced to the House of Lords on 16 January.[13][14]
Writing for the UK Constitutional Law Association, Lewis Graham of theUniversity of Oxford examined the empirical evidence relating to judgments of theSupreme Court under Reed up to April 2022, and found that it has been "more conservative when it comes to public law" compared to previous years.[15]
On 30 March 2022, Reed tendered his resignation from theCourt of Final Appeal of Hong Kong, citing concerns about thenational security law inHong Kong.[16]
On 16 January 2026, Reed announced that he would retire from theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom on 10 January 2027.[17]
Lord Reed's judgments are characterised by an in-depth analysis of the common law.[18] He has handed down judgements on various important topics of the law:
In 2015 Reed was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Society of Edinburgh.[36] Lord Reed isHigh Steward of the University of Oxford and succeededLord Rodger asVisitor of Balliol College, Oxford.[37]
He married Jane Mylne, Lady Reed in 1988, with whom he has two daughters.[38]
The Supreme Court today also announces that Lord Reed, whose appointment was announced on 20 December 2011, will be sworn-in as a Justice on 6 February 2012.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom 2018–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom 2020–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by None | Non-Permanent Judge of theCourt of Final Appeal of Hong Kong 2017–2022 | Succeeded by Not Applicable |
| Order of precedence in England and Wales | ||
| Preceded byasLord Speaker | Gentlemen as President of the Supreme Court | Succeeded byasLord Keeper of the Privy Seal |
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
