The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, has welcomed the appointment of seven new appellate judges.
Two of the judges are women – Mrs Justice Farbey and Mrs Justice Lieven – while Mr Justice Saini joins Lord Justice Singh as one of the few Asian judges to reach appellate rank.
The appointments to the Court of Appeal (CoA) follow a number of retirements and the elevation of Sir Richard Snowden, the former Erskine Chambers silk, who was sworn in as a judge of the UK Supreme Court today in front of the other 11 justices.
The appointments were made by King Charles III on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, David Lammy, following the recommendations of an independent selection panel chaired by Carr, alongside the outgoing Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, and three judicial commissioners: Uche Igbokwe and professors Chris Bones and Clare McGlynn.
Carr said: “Each will bring a wealth of judicial knowledge and experience to their new roles, having served with distinction on the High Court Bench.”
Farbey practised as a human rights, public and immigration specialist at Doughty Street Chambers before joining the High Court in 2018, alongside duties concerning administrative appeals from the tribunal system.
Lieven is a former barrister at Landmark Chambers and Blackstone Chambers and specialised in property and planning law. She took silk in 2006 and was made a High Court judge in the Family Division in 2019, having previously sat as a deputy.
Saini, once of Blackstone Chambers, took silk in 2008, and like many of his peers, sat first as a deputy High Court judge in 2017 before being elevated in 2019 to the (now) King’s Bench Division. He is the presiding judge of the Western Circuit.
Also joining the Court of Appeal is former 7 King’s Bench Walk silk Mr Justice Butcher, who was appointed to the High Court in 2018 and has presided over several significant trials in the Commercial Court, including the Russian Aviation litigation.
Another addition to the court is former Brick Court barrister Mr Justice Chamberlain, who has been the judge in charge of the Administrative Court since 2024.
He took silk in 2013, going on to make twenty appearances before the UK Supreme Court. He first sat as a deputy High Court judge in 2016 and became a full-time judge in 2019, later chairing national security tribunals on immigration and investigatory powers.
Former Falcon Chambers property silk Mr Justice Fancourt moves up to the CoA, having joined the Chancery Division – which is to be rebranded as the Business and Property Division – in 2018. He is the former President of the Lands Tribunal, and managed commercial cases in the North and North-East Circuits as the judge in charge, alongside duties in the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Fancourt is also chair of the High Court Judges Association.
The contingent of new judges is completed by Mr Justice Meade, who was elevated to the bench to replace Dame Vivien Rose in 2020. The former IP barrister at 8 New Square is the current judge in charge of the IP list and the Patents Court.
Snowden, meanwhile, was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice in May, following the retirement of Lord Richards.
He was called to the Bar in 1986, made silk in 2003 and began his judicial career in 2006 as a Recorder. He became a deputy High Court judge in 2008 and a Chancery Division judge in 2015. Like Fancourt, he served as vice-chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster and supervising judge for the Business and Property Courts on the Northern and North-Eastern Circuits from 2019.
The Supreme Court president Lord Reed, who is set to retire in January 2027, said: “The experience and expertise which he brings to the court, particularly in the areas of company law and corporate insolvency, will maintain its ability to address the most difficult and important legal problems arising in the United Kingdom and also many countries around the world whose final court of appeal is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.”
The announcement came as the House of Commons’ Justice Committee approved the appointment of Professor Lynne Berry, chair of the Human Tissue Authority and pro-chancellor of the University of Westminster, as the next chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission, succeeding Helen Pitcher.
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