Dame Anne Judith Rafferty (born 26 July 1950) is an English jurist, who served as a Lady Justice of Appeal of England and Wales from 2011 to 2020.

Career

Educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School before going up to read law at the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

, Rafferty was the first woman to chair the Criminal Bar Association. She

took silk A King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Qu ...

(

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

) in 1990 and was appointed a Recorder the following year. In 1999, she was promoted Deputy High Court Judge, before her appointment to the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...

in 2000, when she was assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

, receiving the customary accolade of

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(DBE). In 2011, Rafferty was appointed to the

Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to ...

with effect from 5 July, and was sworn of the Privy Council. In November 2014, her appointment as

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

(her ''alma mater'') was announced, to replace Sir Peter Middleton in Summer 2015. In 2019, Lady Justice Rafferty became known for overturning a lower court decision that

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

had to face three allegations of misconduct in public office, including a disputed claim that the UK was sending £350m a week to Brussels. On 10 September 2022, Rafferty attended the Accession Council as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

and signed the Proclamation of Accession of King Charles III.

Personal life

Dame Anne Rafferty is married to fellow

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

His Honour Judge

Brian Barker Brian John Barker (born 1945), is a British retired judge. From February 2013 to January 2015 he served as the Recorder of London, the most senior judge at the Old Bailey. Prior to that he was the Common Serjeant of London, the second most se ...

CBE KC, formerly

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

; they have four daughters.www.curriers.co.uk
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References

External links

''Debrett's People of Today''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rafferty, Anne 1950 births Living people People educated at Wolverhampton Girls' High School Alumni of the University of Sheffield English barristers English King's Counsel English legal professionals English women judges 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Queen's Bench Division judges Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lady justices of appeal Members of Gray's Inn 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 20th-century British women judges 21st-century English judges Lawyers awarded damehoods