Appointment of a Circuit Judge Member to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee
Following an Expression of Interest (EoI) exercise, The Master of the Rolls has appointed Her Honour Judge Emma Kelly as a County Court Judge member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) for three years commencing 1 September 2025.
The CPRC is a non-departmental public body. It was established under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 (CPA 1997) to make rules of court, setting out the practice and procedure, for the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the County Court.
The Lord/Lady Chief Justice has the power (under the CPA 1997) to appoint judicial members to the CPRC and that power has been delegated to the Master of the Rolls, Head of Civil Justice and statutory Chair of the CPRC. Lord Justice Birss led the selection panel considering the EoIs and subsequent interviews. The appointment is made following the selection panel’s recommendation to the Master of the Rolls and subsequent consultation with the Lord Chancellor.
Biography
Her Honour Judge Emma Kelly
HHJ Emma Kelly was called to the Bar in 1997. She practised in Birmingham from 1 Fountain Court and then from St Philips Chambers. Much of her practice involved Chancery matters, particularly property and probate litigation.
She was appointed a Deputy District Judge in 2010 and a District Judge in 2015, a Recorder (crime and civil) in 2018 and a Senior Circuit Judge in 2021. From 2015 she was a specialist Chancery and then BPC District Judge at Birmingham Civil Justice Centre and thereafter was authorised to sit hearing Business and Property work as a Recorder.
HHJ Emma Kelly is authorised to sit as a Judge of the High Court in the Chancery Division and the King’s Bench Division, including in the Administrative Court. She is also authorised to hear Court of Protection cases. She is the Designated Civil Judge for Birmingham.