John Barry Mortimer, GBS, SPMB,

OBE 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 ...

, KC (; born 7 August 1931) is a British barrister who has held senior judicial appointments in Hong Kong and Brunei Darussalam.

Early life and education

Mortimer was born in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1931. He was educated at

St Peter's School, York St Peter's School is a mixed-sex education, co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding and day school (also referred to as a Public school (United Kingdom), public school), in the English City of York, with extensive ...

. He graduated from

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

with a BA in 1955.

Legal career

Mortimer was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1956. He

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 ...

in 1971. He was elected a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

in 1981.

Judicial career

In 1985, Mortimer was appointed a Judge of the

High Court of Hong Kong The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is a part of the legal system of Hong Kong. It consists of the Court of Appeal and the Court of First Instance; it deals with criminal and civil cases which have risen beyond the ...

. From 1989 to 1995, Mortimer was a member of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong. In 1993, Mortimer was appointed a Justice of Appeal, and in 1997 became Vice President of the Court of Appeal of Hong Kong (a position in which he served until he retired from the Court of Appeal in 1999). Between 1997 and 2015, he was a Non-Permanent Judge of the

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (HKCFA) is the final appellate court of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, upon the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, replacing the Judicial Committee of the Priv ...

. In 2002, Mortimer was elected as a Senior

of the

. In 2005, Mortimer was appointed as a Judicial Commissioner of the

Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam The Supreme Court of Brunei Darussalam is, in theory, the highest court of Brunei Darussalam, though its decisions are subject to appeal in civil cases to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supr ...

. Between 2010 and 2018, Mortimer served as President of the Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam.

Honours

In 1999, Mortimer was awarded the Golden Bauhinia Star by the

Chief Executive of Hong Kong The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is the representative of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and head of the Government of Hong Kong. The position was created to replace the office of Governor of ...

. On retirement from the bench in 2018, Mortimer was awarded the Order of Seri Paduka Mahkota Brunei (First Class) by the

Sultan of Brunei The Sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...

. In the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, Mortimer was appointed

for services to law by

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She had been queen regnant of 32 sovere ...

.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/767769/DSO_NY19_CH___BE_HMTQ.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, John B. 1931 births Living people People educated at St Peter's School, York Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star Officers of the Order of the British Empire English barristers English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Members of the Middle Temple British judges on the courts of Brunei