The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has appointed the Right Hon Lord Sales as its next deputy president.
Lord Sales will take up the post in January 2026 following the retirement of the incumbent, the Right Hon Lord Hodge, at the end of this year.
Lord Sales was called to the Bar of England and Wales at Lincoln’s Inn in 1985 and sat as an assistant recorder from 1999 to 2001, recorder from 2001 and 2008 and deputy high court judge from 2004 and 2008.
He became a Queen’s Counsel in 2006 and in 2019 was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court.
Lord Sales said: “It is a great honour to be appointed as the deputy president of the Supreme Court. The court has a reputation around the world as a source of leading judgments of the highest quality in all areas of law. As deputy president, I am looking forward to continuing to uphold the court’s traditions of integrity, impartiality and legal excellence.
“I am also looking forward to maintaining those same traditions in the work of the judicial committee of the Privy Council, which is the other jurisdiction in which Supreme Court justices make a major contribution to the law.”
King Charles approved Lord Sales’ appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lord Chancellor David Lammy, following the recommendation of an independent selection commission, the Supreme Court said.
Lord Sales was a member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal between 2008 and 2015, and vice president of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal between 2014 and 2015. In 2014, he was also appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal.
In his new role, Lord Sales will be expected to work alongside the president, the Right Hon Lord Reed, to oversee the judicial work of the court, working closely also with the chief executive who leads the court administration.
He will also share a wider leadership and ambassadorial role, meeting parliamentarians, the government and other courts across the UK, as well as lead on engagement with overseas apex courts and international judicial organisations. Within the court, he will be expected to foster collegiality among the justices and a collaborative working culture with the staff who support the work of the court.
Lord Reed said: “Lord Sales is recognised around the world as an outstanding judge. As deputy president, he will make an even greater contribution to the work of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”
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