Stephens to be Northern Ireland's Supreme Court Justice

Northern Ireland Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Stephens has been appointed a Justice of the United Kingdom Supreme Court.

The appointment, by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor following the recommendation of an independent selection commission, will take effect from 1 October 2020, following the retirement of Lord Kerr on 30 September.

Lord Justice Stephens (Sir Ben Stephens) was educated at Manchester University. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1977, the Bar of England & Wales in July 1978 and to the Bar of Ireland in 1996. He took silk in 1996.

He was appointed as a High Court Judge in Northern Ireland in 2007, serving  in the Family Division from 2008, including as Hague Convention Liaison judge for international cases involving child abduction, and the Queen’s Bench Division from 2014. He was a judge of the Tax & Chancery Chamber of the Upper Tribunal from 2013 to 2017 and he is Chairman of the Council of Law Reporting for Northern Ireland. 

Since June 2013 he has been a commissioner in the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission. He was appointed Senior Lord Justice of Appeal in September 2017.

Lord Reed, President of the Supreme Court, commented: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome the announcement of Lord Justice Stephens’s appointment as a Justice of the UK Supreme Court. We look forward to his making a significant contribution to the work of the court and the development of the law, drawing on the extensive experience which he has gained from a distinguished judicial career."