The most senior judge in England and Wales will be a woman for the first time in history – although uncertainty remains as to whether she will be known as lord chief justice.
Dame Sue Carr, an appeal court judge and former vice-chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission, will take up the position on 1 October, becoming the first woman in the role that dates back to the 13th century. Only two people – both women – applied for the job.
An announcement on Thursday said King Charles had approved her appointment as “the lord chief justice”, although there is doubt about what title she will take, given the lack of precedent.
In an interview broadcast on Tuesday, the lord chancellor, Alex Chalk KC, told BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action that the new head of the judiciary would be able to choose her title. “Ultimately, it’s got to be a title that she is comfortable with,” said Chalk. “And, within reason, I think I’ll probably be led by what she has to say.”
A judicial source said any decision or change to the title “will be not made in haste and are for a later date”.
Carr was educated at Wycombe Abbey school and read law at Trinity College, Cambridge. She was called to the bar in 1987, specialising in general commercial law, and was made a QC, aged 38, in 2003.
Her judicial career began in 2009 in crime, when she became a recorder (part-time judge). She was appointed to the high court, Queen’s bench division in 2013. Carr was the first female high court judge to sit in the technology and construction court and the second to sit in the commercial court. She also sat on the investigatory powers tribunal between 2014 and 2016. She was appointed as a lady justice of appeal in 2020.
She speaks French and German and is a keen musician, singing with the bar choral society and playing the piano. She is married with three children.
The judiciary is attempting to increase the diversity of the profession. Women make up 35% of court judges, up from 24% in 2014, but the Law Society has estimated it will be another decade before they account for half of the judiciary, reflecting their prevalence in society. The proportion of women in senior court appointments is also lower than in more junior roles. Only one of the 12 supreme court judges is a woman.
Applicants were told they were expected to serve for at least four years given the challenges of reducing the outstanding caseloads across jurisdictions and the drive for modernisation across courts and tribunals. Carr succeeds Lord Burnett, who is retiring at the end of September having taken up the position in 2017.
The lord chief justice’s main responsibilities are representing the views of the judiciary to parliament and government, the welfare, training and guidance of judges, discussing the provision of resources to the judiciary – which are allotted by the lord chancellor – with government and the deployment of judges and allocation of work in courts.
The appointment is made by the king on the advice of Chalk and the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, following the recommendation of an independent selection panel.
