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LadyHaleIt was announced yesterday that Baroness Hale of Richmond will succeed Lord Hope (who is retiring this Thursday, the 27th of June) as Deputy President of the Supreme Court. An independent selection committee had considered applications from current members of the Supreme Court bench, and consulted across the Court’s three UK jurisdictions.

In the order of precedence, the Deputy President ranks after the Master of the Rolls and before other Justices of the Supreme Court. Lord Neuberger, UKSC President, said of the role:

“The role of Deputy President involves working alongside the President to oversee the judicial work of the Court, and liaising closely with Chief Executive who manages the Court’s administration. The Deputy President also shares a wider leadership and ambassadorial role with the President, undertaking a range of engagements to promote understanding of the role of the judiciary and senior appellate courts in the UK and to foster international links.”

Lord Hope has been Deputy President since the Court was established in 2009, and his final sitting is in R v Gul, which starts today. In the Court’s press release, Lady Hale praised her predecessor:

“It is an honour and a privilege to have been chosen to follow Lord Hope, who has made such a success of the role in the transition from the House of Lords to the Supreme Court. I look forward to continuing and building upon the work which he has done to establish this great new institution in our national life,”