Anthony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony

Anthony Peter Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, PC (born 13 May 1943) is one of the first eleven Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and was the first Justice to be appointed directly to the court when it came into existence on 1 October 2009 without having sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was also appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on April 11, 2011 as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions.^[1] He was previously Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales.

Clarke was educated at Oakham School. In 1957 the trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams first made him interested in pursuing a career in the law.^[2] He read economics and law at King's College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1965, and specialised in commercial and maritime law. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1979, and was a Recorder sitting in both criminal and civil courts from 1985 to 1992.

He became a High Court judge in 1993, receiving the customary knighthood, and was allocated to the Queen's Bench Division. In April 1993, he succeeded Mr. Justice Sheen as the Admiralty Judge. He sat in the Admiralty Court, the Commercial Court and the Crown Court, trying commercial and criminal cases respectively.

He was promoted to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in 1998, and appointed to the Privy Council. Shortly thereafter, he took charge of the Thames Safety Inquiry and in the following year the judicial inquiry into the Marchioness disaster. He was appointed as Master of the Rolls in 2005. On 15 April 2009, it was announced that Clarke would be granted a life peerage,^[3] and he was subsequently created Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, of Stone-cum-Ebony in the County of Kent, on 29 May 2009,^[4] and took his seat in the House of Lords on 1 June 2009.^[5] It was announced on 20 April 2009 that he was to be appointed to the Supreme Court with effect from 1 October 2009.^[6]

Styles

• Anthony Clarke, Esq. (13 May 1943–1979)
• Anthony Clarke, Esq., QC (1979–11 January 1993)
• The Hon. Mr Justice Clarke (11 January 1993–1 October 1998)
• The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Clarke (1 October 1998–3 October 2005)
• The Rt Hon. Sir Anthony Clarke MR (1 October 2005–29 May 2009)
• The Rt Hon. The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony MR (29 May 2009–30 September 2009)
• The Rt Hon. The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony (1 October 2009–)

References

External links

• The Court of Appeal from HM Courts Service
• Senior judiciary biographies - Master of the Rolls from the Judicial Communications Office