In memoriam – The Rt Hon the Lord Etherton GBE KC PC
High CourtChancellor of the High CourtLady Chief JusticeMaster of the RollsNews
Lord Etherton passed away on 6 May 2025 at the age of 73.
On behalf of the judiciary of England and Wales, I have offered our deepest condolences to his husband, Andrew, and family at this very sad time.
Lord Etherton was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1974 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1990. He practised at the Chancery Bar between 1975 and 2000, establishing a reputation in commercial and property law. In what can only be described as a stellar legal career, he was appointed as a High Court Judge in January 2001, became Chair of the Law Commission in 2006 and a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2008. He was appointed Chancellor of the High Court in 2013, and in October 2016 succeeded Lord Dyson as Master of the Rolls. In December 2020, he was created Baron Etherton of Marylebone in the City of Westminster.
In all of the roles that he occupied, he was a force of nature. As Chair of the Law Commission, he piloted the new House of Lords procedure for uncontroversial Law Commission bills. Amongst his achievements as Chancellor of the High Court was the introduction of the Financial List, a joint list between the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court for resolving disputes involving complex financial instruments; and the installation in the Rolls Building of the first electronic filing and case management system in England and Wales. As Master of the Rolls, he pressed reforms in the civil division of the Court of Appeal, most visibly live streaming. As Chair of the Civil Justice Council, he championed access to justice for all and was particularly dedicated to helping vulnerable people in the civil courts.
In May 2022, he was appointed to chair an independent review into the treatment of LGBT military members between 1967 and 2000. The report was published in July 2023, and the (then) Government committed to delivering the intent behind all 49 of the review’s recommendations. In the 2024 Birthday Honours, Lord Etherton was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order for the British Empire (GBE) for services to LGBT veterans.
Lord Etherton is recognised as Britain’s first openly gay senior judge, and his leadership and advocacy in advancing LGBT rights was inspiring. In his valedictory speech, he expressed his hope that he has been a role model in keeping his promise to himself never to hide his sexuality. This hope has been very much achieved. One of his prized possessions, which remains in his former office at the Royal Courts of Justice, was a Lego mini figure of a fencing judge, complete with ceremonial red robes and full-bottomed wig – a reminder of his former career as a member of the British fencing team (sabre) in the late 1970s.
He bore illness in his later years with dignity and stoicism, continuing to work hard and to support the rule of law to the very end. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by us all.
The Rt Hon the Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill
Lady Chief Justice of England & Wales