John Thomas, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd

The Right Honourable The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd PC QC
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 October 2013
Nominated by	Chris Grayling
Appointed by	Queen Elizabeth II
Preceded by	The Lord Judge
President of the Queen's Bench Division
In office 3 October 2011 – 1 October 2013
Deputy	Dame Heather Hallett
Preceded by	Sir Anthony May
Succeeded by	Sir Brian Leveson
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office 14 July 2003 – 3 October 2011
Personal details
Born	(1947-10-22) 22 October 1947 Wales, United Kingdom
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, Cambridge, University of Chicago

Roger John Laugharne Thomas, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd, PC, QC (born 22 October 1947) is the current Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.^[1]

Early life and education

Thomas was born in 1947 to Roger Edward Laugharne Thomas and his wife Dinah Agnes Thomas, of Cwmgiedd.^[2]

Thomas was educated at Rugby School^[2] and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in Law in 1966.^[2] He was elected a Fellow of Trinity Hall in 2004.^[2] He proceeded to the University of Chicago where he earned a J.D. degree and was a Commonwealth Fellow.^[2]

Thomas was an assistant teacher at Mayo College, Ajmer, India, from 1965–66.^[2]

Legal career

Thomas was called to the Bar in 1969 (Gray's Inn). He became a Queen's Counsel in 1984 and was appointed a Recorder in 1987.^[1] He practised as a member of the commercial chambers at 4 Essex Court in the Temple, which in 1994 moved to Lincoln's Inn Fields and has since then been known as Essex Court Chambers.

He was the Department of Trade and Industry Inspector into Mirror Group Newspapers plc in 1992.^[2]

On 11 January 1996, he was appointed a High Court judge,^[3] receiving the customary knighthood,^[4] and was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, serving on the Commercial Court until his appointment to the Court of Appeal. On 14 July 2003, Thomas became a Lord Justice of Appeal^[5] and given the customary appointment to the Privy Council later that year. He served as the Senior Presiding Judge from 2003 to 2006, and President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary from 2008 to 2010.^[1]

In October 2008, Thomas was appointed Vice-President of the Queen's Bench Division and Deputy Head of Criminal Justice.^[6] On 3 October 2011, he succeeded Sir Anthony May as President of the Queen's Bench Division.^[7]

On 1 October 2013, Thomas was appointed to succeed Lord Judge as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.^[8] On 26 September 2013, it was announced Thomas would become a life peer upon taking office as Lord Chief Justice.^[9] He was created a Life Peer on 4 October 2013, taking the title Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd, of Cwmgiedd in the County of Powys.^[10] Following his introduction, as a member of the judiciary he was immediately disqualified from sitting in the House of Lords under the terms of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

In October 2016 Thomas was one of the three judges forming the divisional court of the High Court in proceedings concerning the use of the royal prerogative for the issue of notification in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (the Lisbon Treaty) (R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union).

Other affiliations

Thomas is one of the Founding Members of the European Law Institute, a non-profit organisation that conducts research, makes recommendations and provides practical guidance in the field of European legal development with a goal of enhancing the European legal integration.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and a Fellow of the Universities of Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Bangor and an Honorary Doctor of Law of the Universities of Glamorgan, the West of England and Wales.

Personal life

He married in 1973 Elizabeth Ann Buchanan, daughter of S J Buchanan of Ohio, US.^[2] They have one son and one daughter.^[2]

He lists his recreations in Who's Who as gardens, walking and travel.^[2]

See also

• List of Lords Justices of Appeal

References