President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom


The President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is equivalent to the now-defunct position of Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, also known as the Senior Law Lord, who was the highest ranking among the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary.
The current President is Robert Reed, since 11 January 2020.

History

From 1900 to 1969, when the Lord Chancellor was not present, a former Lord Chancellor would preside at judicial sittings of the House of Lords. If no former Lord Chancellor was present, the most senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary present would preside, seniority being determined by rank in the peerage. In the years following World War II, it became less common for Lord Chancellors to have time to gain judicial experience in office, making it anomalous for former holders of the office to take precedence. As a result, on 22 May 1969, the rules were changed such that if the Lord Chancellor was not present, the most senior Law Lord, by appointment as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary rather than peerage, would preside.
In 1984, the system was amended to provide that judges be appointed as Senior and Second Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, rather than taking the roles by seniority. The purpose of the change was to allow an ailing Lord Diplock to step aside from presiding, yet remain a Law Lord.
On 1 October 2009, the judicial functions of the House of Lords were transferred to the new Supreme Court under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The Senior Law Lord, Nick Phillips, and the Second Senior Law Lord became, respectively, the President and the Deputy President of the new court. The same day, the Queen by warrant established a place for the President of the Supreme Court in the order of precedence, immediately after the Lord Speaker.

List of Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

#ImageNameBornAlma materPresidency startedPresidency endedDurationPrior senior judicial roles
1'
King's College, Cambridge02009-10-01-031 October 200902009-10-01-0330 September 2012Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Master of the Rolls
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
2'
Christ Church, Oxford02009-10-01-031 October 201202009-10-01-034 September 2017Master of the Rolls
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord Justice of Appeal
3
Girton College, Cambridge02009-10-01-035 September 201710 January 2020Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord Justice of Appeal
Justice of the High Court, Family Division
4Robert Reed
University of Edinburgh
Balliol College, Oxford		11 January 2020IncumbentDeputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Senator of the College of Justice