Peerage for the new Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
A peerage has been conferred on Sir Roger John Laugharne Thomas.
The Queen has been pleased to confer a peerage of the United Kingdom for Life on the Rt Hon Sir Roger John Laugharne Thomas upon his appointment as the Lord Chief Justice for England and Wales in recognition of the contribution that he has made to law and justice reform.
Biography of Sir Roger John Laugharne Thomas
Sir John Thomas will become the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1 October 2013 upon the retirement of The Rt Hon The Lord Judge.
Sir John was appointed a Judge of the High Court of England and Wales in 1996 and was assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division and to the Commercial Court.
From 1998 to 2001 he was one of the Presiding Judges of the Wales and Chester Circuit.
He was Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court in London from April 2002 to July 2003, when he was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal.
He has been a member of the Judges’ Council since 2002. He was the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from 2003 to 2006.
From 2008 to October 2011 he was Vice-President of the Queen’s Bench Division. He has been President of the Queen’s Bench Division since October 2011.
He has been Deputy Head of Criminal Justice since 2008 as well as judge in charge of European issues from 2007 to 2011.
He was President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary from May 2008 to December 2010.