Profession Advocate Name Robert Lord | Spouse Jane Mylne (m. 1988) | |
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Preceded by The Lord Rodger of Earlsferry Nominated by Tony Blair
As Prime Minister Appointed by Elizabeth II
Queen of the United Kingdom Full Name Robert John Reed Born 7 September 1956 (age 68) ( 1956-09-07 ) Alma mater University of Edinburgh; Balliol College, Oxford Education Balliol College, University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford, George Watson's College | ||
Robert John Reed, Lord Reed is a Scottish judge and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He sat as the principal judge in the Commercial Court before being promoted to the Inner House of the Court of Session in 2008. He is an authority on human rights law in Scotland, and serves as one of the UK's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights.
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Early life
Reed was educated at the independent George Watson's College in Edinburgh, and studied at the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh, taking a First Class Honours LL.B. and winning a Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He then took a D.Phil. at Balliol College, Oxford, writing a doctoral thesis on "Legal Control of Government Assistance to Industry", and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1983.
Legal career
Reed served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Education Department from 1988 to 1989, and to the Scottish Office Home and Health Department from 1989 to 1995. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1995, and Advocate Depute in 1996. He was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, the country's Supreme Courts, in 1998, with the judicial title, Lord Reed. He sat initially as a Judge of the Outer House, becoming Principal Commercial Judge in 2006. He is one of the United Kingdom's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights, and sat in the Grand Chamber judgements on the appeals of the killers of James Bulger in 1999. Between 2002 and 2004, he was an expert advisor to the EU/Council of Europe Joint Initiative with Turkey. He was promoted to the Inner House (First Division) in 2008, and appointed to the Privy Council. He sat on the Bench of the UK Supreme Court during the illness of Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, along with Lord Clarke, and succeeded Lord Rodger. The selection committee was established on 25 July 2011.
He has been Chairman of the Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee since 2005, and was President of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment from 2006–08, now serving as Vice-President. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law from 2001 to 06, and of the UN Task Force on Access to Justice since 2006. He is Convener of the charity Children in Scotland (since 2006) and Chairman of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law (since 2008). He has been an Honorary Professor of Law at Glasgow Caledonian University since 2005, and the School of Law of the University of Glasgow since 2006.
On 20 December 2011, it was announced that Reed would replace the late Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was sworn in on 6 February 2012.
Personal life
He married Jane Mylne in 1988, with whom he has two daughters. He succeeded Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as the Visitor of Balliol College, Oxford.