Sir Adrian Bruce Fulford (born 8 January 1953) is a retired Lord Justice of Appeal. From 2017 to 2019, he was the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner, and was the Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in 2019, succeeding Lady Justice Hallett. Previously, he was a judge of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

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from 2003–12, the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from January 2016 to March 2017, and former member of the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL).

Early life

Fulford was born on 8 January 1953. He was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey and went up to the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, gaining a LLB. From 1974 to 1975, he served as a housing advisor at Shelter's Housing Aid Service.

Legal career

He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in 1978, and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994. One of Fulford’s earliest, and most prominent, cases was serving as counsel to Mr Ronnie Bolden, on trial at the Old Bailey in 1989 charged with armed robbery by the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad (SCS), which was later disbanded.

Judicial career

In 1995, Fulford was made a Recorder of the Crown Court (re-appointed in 2001). His appointment as a High Court judge on 21 November 2002 was only the second such appointment of an openly homosexual QC, and the first to the King's Bench Division (then called the Queen's Bench Division)..

High Court

Fulford was appointed to what was then the Queen's Bench Division and received the customary knighthood. Though he became a judge of the

in 2003, Fulford continued his work at the High Court, presiding over a number of high-profile cases. Among these were the 21 July 2005 London bombings trial, an extremist Muslim plot to cause deadly explosions similar to those which killed over 50 people on 7 July; the trial of terrorist plotter Saajid Badat; and the trial of PC Simon Harwood for the death of a street newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson in the City of London. Fulford's term on the ICC ended on 11 March 2012. On 11 May 2012, Fulford imposed a whole life order on David Oakes, who was convicted at the Crown Court at Chelmsford of the premeditated and sadistic murder of his former partner and daughter. Fulford also presided over the trial of Jiervon Barlett and Najed Hoque who were accused of the manslaughter of Paula Castle, a woman mugged in Greenford, West London. He sentenced them to 13 years. Fulford received the UK Government's nomination, and was subsequently elected in 2003 to serve, as one of 18 judges of the

for a term of nine years, and was assigned to the Trial Division. He was sworn into office on 11 March 2003. Fulford presided over the ICC's first trial, that of Thomas Lubanga, and in that capacity delivered the court's first guilty verdict on 14 March 2012.

Court of Appeal

On 10 May 2013, Fulford was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal. In March 2014, the '' Mail on Sunday'' printed allegations that Fulford had been a supporter of the Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE) in the 1970s. He denied the allegation. Following this allegation, he stepped down from judging criminal cases and an official investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office took place. The investigation, by Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, concluded on 18 June 2014 that the allegations against Fulford were "without substance" and he "was not and had never been a supporter of PIE or its aims". Following his exoneration, Fulford resumed sitting as a judge on the full range of appeals. Fulford was appointed as the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2015, and was promoted to Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2016 succeeding Peter Gross. On 31 March 2017, Fulford stood down from this position, to accept appointment as the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner in which role he will be supported by fifteen senior judges appointed under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. In 2021, he presided over the sentencing of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard. Sentencing him at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

to a whole-life tariff, Fulford described the case as "devastating, tragic and wholly brutal" and told Couzens he had eroded public confidence in the police. On 1 October 2022, Fulford retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal.

Honours

* He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1994. * He was Knighted as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

on 16 December 2002. The award was Gazetted on 11 March 2003. * He was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 2013. This allows him the Honorific Title "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

" for Life. * He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the

in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulford, Adrian 1953 births Living people Alumni of the University of Southampton English King's Counsel 21st-century English judges 20th-century English judges International Criminal Court judges Knights Bachelor LGBTQ judges British LGBTQ lawyers English gay men Lord justices of appeal Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel British judges of international courts and tribunals 21st-century English LGBTQ people