King's Bench chief latest leading judge to announce retirement

Dame Victoria Sharp has become the latest senior judge to announce their retirement from the judiciary. She will step down as president of the King’s Bench division in October.

Sharp, 69, became the first woman to lead the High Court’s largest division in 2019. She has also sat in the Court of Appeal since 2013.

'Dame Victoria has been a champion of transparency initiatives, leading the introduction of livestreaming in the Court of Appeal and the broadcasting of sentencing in the Crown courts,’ HM Judiciary said. ‘Her time as president included steering the courts through the pandemic, including as deputy head of criminal justice when the criminal courts continued to sit – making England and Wales one of the only jurisdictions in the world to keep sitting at the time.

‘Dame Victoria has also sat in the Court of Appeal since 2013, hearing some of its most significant cases.'

Sharp said: ‘It has been a great privilege to lead the division, and I am immensely proud of the work of the King’s Bench judges and the critical work they and other judges do to support the administration of justice.’

Lady chief justice Baroness Carr said: ‘Dame Victoria has been an immense leader in the judiciary for well over a decade, setting standards for excellence and resilience at a time of mounting challenge and workload. She is celebrated for her considerable legal thinking, as well as her profound commitment to the judges of the King’s Bench Division. We thank her for her tireless contribution in the delivery of service to justice.’

Master of the rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos announced earlier this week that he will retire in October, while president of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane will go in April.

Writing on his blog A Lawyer Writes, Gazette columnist Joshua Rozenberg tips senior presiding judge Lord Justice Green to succeed Sharp, ahead of Lord Justice Edis, partly because Green has run the Law Commission and is therefore familiar with Whitehall.

The triple change creates a huge challenge for the Judicial Appointments Commission, Rozenberg notes. 'Candidates for the three vacancies will be members of the Court of Appeal or, perhaps, the Supreme Court. Once they are appointed, their former posts will need to be filled,' he said.