The Queen has approved the appointment of The Rt Hon Sir Terence Etherton, an Honorary Professor of Law at Kent, as the Master of the Rolls with effect from 3 October 2016.
Sir Terence Etherton is also one of the patrons of the Kent Law Campaign, a £5million fundraising project to build a new home for the Kent Law Clinic and our Mooting Programme. He was invited to become an Honorary Professor at Kent Law School in January 2011. His combination of legal practice and law reform is ideally suited to support and complement the activities of Kent Law School. He is the author of numerous articles, has delivered many keynote lectures and is someone strongly committed to equality and diversity in the legal profession, often speaking publicly in this regard.
He has delivered two guest lectures at Kent, the first, entitled ‘Religion, the Rule of Law and Democracy’ in March 2012 and the second, entitled ‘Judging and Judgment Writing’ in February 2013.
Sir Terence Etherton was called to the Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1974 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1990. He was appointed a High Court Judge on 11 January 2001 and assigned to the Chancery Division, receiving the customary knighthood.
In 2006 he was appointed Chairman of the Law Commission and in 2008 he was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal, receiving the customary appointment to the Privy Council. In 2009 he was appointed President of the Council of the Inns of Court and in 2013 he was appointed the Chancellor of the High Court, head of the Chancery Division.
He is also an honorary fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, and of Royal Holloway, London University; a Visiting Professor of Law of Birkbeck, London University and he has an honorary doctorate in law from City University.
The Master of the Rolls is the Head of Civil Justice and the second most senior judge (after the Lord Chief Justice) in England and Wales. The position dates back to at least the 13th century. The Master of the Rolls is President of the Court of Appeal’s Civil Division, which hears appeals on the full range of civil, family and tribunal cases. In addition to a heavy caseload and administrative responsibilities, the office also conveys the chairmanship of a number of bodies, including the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, Civil Justice Council, Advisory Council on National records and Archives and the Magna Carta Trust.
The appointment follows the retirement of The Right Honourable Lord Dyson on 2 October 2016 and was made by Her Majesty The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor following the recommendation of an independent selection panel chaired by Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the Lord Chief Justice.