Lord Justice Warby appointed President of the King’s Bench Division
King's Bench DivisionPresident of the King's Bench DivisionNews
His Majesty King Charles III has been pleased to approve the appointment of The Rt Hon Lord Justice Warby as the President of the King’s Bench Division.
This appointment will follow the retirement of Dame Victoria Sharp DBE.
The Lady Chief Justice said:
“I am delighted that His Majesty The King has announced the appointment of Lord Justice Warby as the President of the King’s Bench Division.
“Lord Justice Warby has extensive experience in this jurisdiction as the Judge in Charge of the Media and Communications List, Director of Training for the Senior Judiciary, and former Chair of the High Court Judges’ Association. He takes up the role at a time of change, with the creation of the Business and Property Division. He will be able to draw upon his leadership expertise to ensure that the judges of the King’s Bench Division, the largest Division of the High Court, are supported in continuing to uphold the rule of law and deliver timely and fair resolution of the disputes that they decide.”
Biography
The Rt Hon Lord Justice Mark Warby was called to the Bar in 1981 and took Silk in 2002. He was appointed as a Recorder in 2009, a High Court Judge assigned to the King’s Bench Division in 2014 and as a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 2021. He served as the Vice Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission between 2023 and 2026.
Role of the President of the King’s Bench Division
The post of the President of the King’s Bench Division was created in 2005. Until then, the Head of the Division was the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. By the nature of the office, the President is an ex officio judge of the Court of Appeal.
The President is responsible for the work of the Division, and the deployment of its judges.
The work of the King’s Bench Division includes ‘common law’ civil claims – actions relating to contracts and claims relating to civil wrongs, known as ‘torts’. It also deals with applications for judicial review – a type of case which seeks to establish if decisions made by the government and other public bodies have been made in the correct way.
The Administrative Court, the Planning Court, the Media and Communications List, and the general King’s Bench List all sit within the King’s Bench Division. The King’s Bench will remain the largest division following the creation of the Business and Property Division, when the Admiralty Court, Commercial Court and the Technology and Construction Court transfers to the new division.
Judges of the King’s Bench Division also hear some of the most important and complex criminal cases on circuit throughout the country in the Crown Court and in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
The appointment
The appointment of the President of the King’s Bench Division was made by His Majesty The King on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, following the recommendation of an independent selection panel chaired by Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, the Lady Chief Justice. The other panel members were: Lord Sales, Deputy President of the Supreme Court; Professor Clare McGlynn, Lay JAC Commissioner; Ms Siwan Davies, Lay JAC Commissioner; and Mr Tom Cross KC, Professional JAC Commissioner.