Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, (born 21 January 1938) is a British former senior judge. Phillips was the inaugural President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, holding office between October 2009 and October 2012. He was the last

Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary The President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is equivalent to the now-defunct position of Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, also known as the Senior Law Lord, who was the highest ranking among the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (the ju ...

and the first

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

to be head of the English judiciary when that function was transferred from the Lord Chancellor in April 2006. Before his chief justiceship, he was Master of the Rolls from 2000 to 2005. He sits as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

Early life

Phillips was born 21 January 1938. He was educated at Bryanston School (where he was appointed a governor of the school in 1975, he has been chairman of its governors since 1981). He undertook National Service with the Royal Navy and the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, being commissioned as an officer. After two years' military service he went to King's College, Cambridge, where he read law. In 1962, he 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, where he was a Harmsworth Scholar. He undertook pupillage at 2 Essex Court Chambers (with the Anglo-American QC, Waldo Porges) and subsequently obtained a tenancy there, later moving to 1 Brick Court (now

Brick Court Chambers Brick Court Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers in London. It specialises in Commercial, EU, Competition and Public Law work. Brick Court Chambers was founded in 1921 by William Jowitt KC, later Lord Chancellor. Its rise to prominence was ...

). In 1973, he was appointed as Junior Counsel to the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and to the Treasury in Maritime and

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

matters. On 4 April 1978, he became

Queen’s Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

Judicial career

In 1982, Phillips was appointed a

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

and from 1987 was a full-time High Court Judge on the Queen's Bench Division, with the customary knighthood. He took an interest in legal training, and was Chairman of the Council of Legal Education from 1992 to 1997. He presided over several complex fraud trials including those covering the Robert Maxwell pension fund fraud and

Barlow Clowes Barlow Clowes International Ltd was a British company, whose fraud and collapse caused an accounting scandal in 1988. The collapse led to a number of important cases for English trusts law and UK company law, including ''Barlow Clowes Internationa ...

. In 1995, he became a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

and was appointed to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. On 12 January 1999, he was appointed a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

and created a

Life Peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 as Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, of Belsize Park in the London Borough of Camden. He then succeeded Harry, Lord Woolf as Master of the Rolls on 6 June 2000. He conducted an inquiry into the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. He served as

from 2005 to 2008, when he was reappointed as a Law Lord. Since 2008, Phillips was the

until he became the first president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009. Queen Elizabeth II elevated him as a Knight Companion of the

Order of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George C ...

on 23 April 2011. On 11 October 2011, Phillips announced his retirement on 30 September 2012, almost four months before the mandatory retirement age for British judges at turning 75 on 21 January 2013. After retiring from the bench, Phillips followed Woolf as president of the Qatar International Court at Doha He served on the court from 2012 to 2018. He also acts as an arbitrator. In March 2012, the Government of Hong Kong SAR appointed Phillips as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. He also serves as President of the British Maritime Law Association and Chairman of the European Maritime Law Organisation.

Personal life

Phillips is currently married to Christylle Marie-Thérèse Rouffiac, and lives in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, London with one of his daughters, Marie, a novelist; Simon Swire-Phillips, of Arundel. Phillips is a member of Brooks's and the Garrick Clubs. He was also appointed the inaugural Distinguished Fellow and visiting professor of

The Dickson Poon School of Law The Dickson Poon School of Law is the law school of King's College London, itself part of the federal University of London, and serves as one of the nine schools of study within the college. It is situated on the Strand in the East Wing of Some ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He has received honorary degrees of Doctor of Laws (Hon. LLD) from

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

(1998), Birmingham (2003), London (2004), Wake Forest University (2010), and the International Institute of Maritime Law, and of Doctor of Civil Law (Hon. DCL) from City University, London (2003). Phillips served as

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Bournemouth University from 2009 until 2018, being succeeded by broadcaster and author, Kate Adie.

Styles

* Nicholas Phillips Esq (birth–1978) * Nicholas Phillips Esq QC (1978–1987) *

Mr Justice There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales—different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges ...

Phillips (1987–1995) * Lord Justice Phillips PC (1995–1999) * The Rt Hon The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers PC (1999–2011) * The Rt Hon The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG PC (2011–present)

Arms

References

External links

*Dyer, Clare
He pointed a finger where it ought to be pointed. He didn't go over the top ... He has shown himself to be politic
'' The Guardian'', 23 September 2005.
BSE enquiry
UK Government

*Phillips interviewed b
ReConstitution
sharing views on the new UK's Supreme Court and the role of the Judiciary.
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane 7 February 2014 (video)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Nick 1938 births People from Hampstead Royal Navy officers 20th-century English judges 20th-century King's Counsel English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Knights of the Garter Living people Lord chief justices of England and Wales Law lords Senior Lords of Appeal in Ordinary Crossbench life peers People educated at Bryanston School Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Queen's Bench Division judges Members of the Middle Temple Masters of the Rolls Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom English barristers Presidents of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom People associated with Bournemouth University Justices of the Court of Final Appeal (Hong Kong) Hong Kong judges British people of Egyptian-Jewish descent English Sephardi Jews Jewish British politicians 21st-century English judges