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News Release

6 February 2007

7/07

New Chairman for Judicial Studies Board

The Right Honourable Lord Justice Maurice Kay has been appointed Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board. He will replace the Right Honourable Lord Justice Keene who steps down at the end of July after four years in the position.

Welcoming the appointment, the Lord Chief Justice said:

“Lord Justice Keene’s association with the Judicial Studies Board goes back to 1999. As chairman of the Equal Treatment Advisory Committee, he laid the foundations upon which the Judicial Studies Board has built an international reputation in the field of diversity and fair treatment training for judges. Since becoming Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board in 2003, he has led the Board through a period of considerable change with his characteristic energy, skill and flair. The JSB’s remit has broadened considerably in recent years, with its increased role in relation to the magistracy, the tribunals judiciary and senior judges.  Lord Justice Keene has also begun the process of taking a fundamental look at how judicial training could be further improved and has ensured that the JSB is well placed to take forward these, and any future, developments.

“Under his strategic leadership, the JSB has not only successfully adapted to meet these changes but has also continued to deliver high quality training that enables judicial office holders to discharge their duties effectively in a way which preserves judicial independence and supports public confidence in the judiciary.

“Lord Justice Maurice Kay will be an ideal replacement for Lord Justice Keene. He has extensive experience as a Professor of Law, a distinguished record as a judge, and has contributed to numerous legal books and journals. He also is familiar with judicial training having led a series of seminars in the Royal Courts of Justice for the senior judiciary and as a contributor to JSB seminars.”

Notes to Editors.

  1. The Right Honourable Lord Justice Maurice Kay was born on the 6 December 1942 and educated at William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester and Sheffield University. He was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn, in 1975 and made a Bencher in 1995. He was a Lecturer in Law at Hull University from 1967-72 and at Manchester University from 1972-3 and a Professor of Law at Keele University from 1973-1982. He was a practising barrister from 1975-1995, an Assistant Recorder from 1987-88 and a Recorder from 1988-95. He was made a QC in 1988 and was a Judge of the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division from 1995-2003, becoming the Lead Judge of the Administrative Court between 2002 and 2003.  He was knighted in 1995 and made a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2004.

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