Sir Stephen Robert Silber (born 26 March 1944) is a retired British judge of the

High Court of England and Wales 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 and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

Legal career

Silber was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1968 and made 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 ca ...

in 1994. In 1987, he became a

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 ...

and in the same year appointed a Recorder, qualifying as a Deputy High Court judge from 1995 to 1999. He was a member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Judicial Studies Board (now the

Judicial College The Judicial College, formerly the Judicial Studies Board (JSB), established in 1979, is the organisation responsible for training judges in county, the Crown, and higher courts in England and Wales and tribunals judges in England & Wales, Scotla ...

) and a member of the

Law Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chan ...

from 1994 to 1999. On 3 December 1999, he was appointed to the

, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

, and 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 ...

. Since 2004, he has served as a member of the

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions o ...

. He has an MPhil from Oxford University, where he is an Honorary Fellow.

References

1944 births Living people Alumni of University College London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 21st-century English judges Queen's Bench Division judges Members of Gray's Inn Knights Bachelor 20th-century English judges {{UK-law-bio-stub