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It has been announced today that Lord Reed will be the next Deputy President of the Supreme Court, following the recommendation of an independent selection commission.

The Right Hon Lord Reed will succeed Lord Mance who retires on Wednesday 6 June 2018, after serving eight years as a Justice of the Supreme Court, and as Deputy President since September 2017.

Upon being appointed as Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Lord Reed said:

“It is a great honour to succeed Lord Mance as Deputy President of the Supreme Court. I look forward to working with Lady Hale in providing leadership to the Court. I am committed to promoting the Court’s role and activities, both in our national life and internationally.”

Lord Reed has been a Justice of the Supreme Court since February 2012. This followed 4 years sitting as a member of the Inner House of the Court of Session, and 9 years as a member of the Outer House of the Court of Session where he was the Principal Commercial Judge.

Lord Reed has had a varied and high profile career. In addition to sitting on the Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, he is, among other things, also a member of the panel of ad hoc judges of the European Court of Human Rights. In this role he was involved in one of the most high profile cases of the modern judicial era, sitting in the Grand Chamber judgments in 1999 on the appeals of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.

Further details of Lord Reed’s career can be found in our blog profile from February 2012.

Lady Hale welcomed the appointment, and said:

“I am delighted to congratulate and welcome Lord Reed on his appointment as Deputy President of the Court. He is a most distinguished and deeply principled jurist. Since joining the Court in 2012 he has made a significant contribution in many areas, but in particular in developing the common law and championing the rule of law and access to justice. I am confident that the court will be well served by his appointment and that together we will make a great team.”