Sir Colin Birss has been announced as the new master of the rolls while Lord Justice Warby has been appointed the new president of the King’s Bench Division.
Birss’ appointment will follow the retirement of Sir Geoffrey Vos, who steps down on 31 October after five years in the role.
Sir Colin was called to the bar in 1990, specialising in intellectual property and took silk in 2008. He started his judicial career as a deputy chair of the Copyright Tribunal in 2009. He is currently the chancellor of the High Court. In 2023, he became lead judge for artificial intelligence – which suggests that he will continue his predecessor’s focus on the technology’s potential.
The lady chief justice said: ‘I am delighted that, today, the king has appointed Sir Colin Birss as the master of the rolls. ‘His judicial and leadership experience, alongside his technological and digital expertise, make him ideally placed to take on this important role.’
Lord Justice Warby’s appointment as president of the King’s Bench division will follow the retirement of Dame Victoria Sharp, who announced earlier this year that she would be leave the judiciary in October.
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The lady chief justice said: ‘Lord Justice Warby has extensive experience in this jurisdiction as the judge in charge of the media and communications list, director of training for the senior judiciary, and former chair of the High Court Judges’ Association. He takes up the role at a time of change, with the creation of the Business and Property Division. He will be able to draw upon his leadership expertise to ensure that the judges of the King’s Bench Division, the largest division of the High Court, are supported in continuing to uphold the rule of law and deliver timely and fair resolution of the disputes that they decide.’
Warby was called to bar in 1981 and took silk in 2002. He was appointed as a recorder in 2009 and in 2021 was appointed to the Court of Appeal. He also served as the vice chair of the JAC between 2023 and 2026.
Birss’ appointment as master of the rolls, the second in judicial importance to the lady chief justice, and Warby as president of the King’s bench division was made by the king on the advice of the lord chancellor, following the recommendation of an independent selection panel chaired by the lady chief justice Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill.
The other panel members were Lord Sales, deputy president of the Supreme Court; lay Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) commissioners professor Clare McGlynn and Siwan Davies and professional JAC commissioner Tom Cross KC.
The appointments follow the announcement of Lord Justice Cobb heading the family division as the new president, following Sir Andrew McFarlane’s retirement in April this year.
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