High Court judge Lord Justice Stephens (5587) will join the Supreme Court as a Justice on October 1, 2020, Downing Street said. The Queen made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor.

Sir Ben Stephens replaces Lord (Brian) Kerr, who retires next month and was the only Justice with knowledge and experience of the law of Northern Ireland. Lord Reed, President of the Supreme Court, said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome the announcement of Lord Justice Stephens’ appointment as a Justice of the UK Supreme Court. We look forward to his making a significant contribution to the work of the court and the development of the law, drawing on the extensive experience which he has gained from a distinguished judicial career.”

Lord Justice Stephens was educated at Campbell College and Manchester University. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1977, the Bar of England and Wales in July 1978 and to the Bar of Ireland in 1996. He took Silk in 1996.

He held a number of positions at the Bar including Vice Chairman of the Executive Council of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland and Vice Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland. He was a senior member of the Government Civil Panel of Counsel from 2004 to January 2007. He was appointed as a High Court Judge in 2007. He was assigned to the Family Division between 2008 and 2011. He was Hague Convention Liaison judge for international cases involving child abduction between 2008 and 2014. He was a Parole Commissioner 2009 to 2011 and he is Chairman of the Council of Law Reporting for Northern Ireland.  Between June 2013 and September 2018 as a High Court Judge he was a Commissioner in the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission. He was appointed Senior Lord Justice of Appeal in September 2017.


Courtesy of The Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission