Sir Colin Birss, the current Chancellor of the High Court, has been appointed the next Master of the Rolls, while Lord Justice Warby will succeed Dame Victoria Sharp as president of the King’s Bench Division this autumn.
The appointments, approved by His Majesty the King on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, were announced last week following recommendations from an independent selection panel chaired by the Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill.
Also on the panel were Lord Sales, the deputy president of the UK Supreme Court; Professor Clare McGlynn and Siwan Davies, who are lay members of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC); and 11 KBW’s Tom Cross KC, who represents the Bar on the JAC.
Birss will replace Sir Geoffrey Vos following his retirement in October. As Master of the Rolls, Birss will become president of the Court of Appeal’s Civil Division, head of civil justice and the second most senior judge in England and Wales after Carr.
Carr said Birss’ combination of judicial leadership and technology experience made him “ideally placed” for what is a hugely significant role.
“His judicial and leadership experience, alongside his technological and digital expertise, make him ideally placed to take on this important role,” she added.
Birss, 61, was called to the Bar in 1990 and took silk in 2008. He practised as an intellectual property barrister at 3 New Square before beginning his judicial career as deputy chair of the Copyright Tribunal in 2009, becoming a specialist circuit judge in 2010 and a High Court judge in the Chancery Division in 2013.
He joined the Court of Appeal and became deputy head of civil justice in 2021, was appointed lead judge for artificial intelligence in 2023 and became Chancellor of the High Court in November 2025, succeeding Sir Julian Flaux, who has since returned to 7 King’s Bench Walk.
His appointment mirrors Vos’s career trajectory, who also moved from the chancellorship to become Master of the Rolls. Birss will oversee civil justice across the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the county courts, while chairing the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and the Civil Justice Council.
The vice president of the Law Society of England and Wales, Brett Dixon, welcomed the appointment.
“Having worked closely with him for many years as part of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and latterly on digital justice projects, I know he is well placed to oversee civil justice in the courts of England and Wales,” said Dixon.
“We look forward to working together on matters of shared interest including civil justice, the fair and responsible use of AI in the justice system and supporting access to justice for all.”
Warby, 67, will take over from Sharp – the first woman to lead the King’s Bench Division – when she retires in October. Warby will become the third-ranking judge in England and Wales.
Carr said Warby would take office “at a time of change”, including the creation of the Business and Property Division, which will receive the Commercial Court, Technology and Construction Court and Admiralty Court from that division, following Carr’s earlier decision, endorsed by Vos, to reform London’s commercial courts.
“Lord Justice Warby has extensive experience in this jurisdiction as the judge in charge of the Media and Communications List, as director of training for the senior judiciary and former chair of the High Court Judges’ Association,” she said.
Carr added: “He will be able to draw upon his leadership expertise to ensure that the judges of the King’s Bench Division, the largest division of the High Court, are supported in continuing to uphold the rule of law and deliver timely and fair resolution of the disputes that they decide.”
Warby was called to the Bar in 1981, as a member of 5RB, where he was joint head of chambers, and took silk in 2002. He became a recorder in 2009, joined the High Court in 2014 and was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2021. He also served as vice-chair of the JAC from 2023 until February this year, when he stood down.
The appointments form part of a wider turnover in the senior judiciary, following the appointment of Sir Stephen Cobb as president of the Family Division and ahead of Supreme Court president Lord Reed’s retirement in January 2027, with Lord Snowden recently joining the court.
The appointments also follow the publication of this year’s annual judicial diversity statistics, which showed that women account for about 30% of current High Court judges, while women make up 40% of all judges in England and Wales.
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