The King has approved the appointment of Lord Justice Snowden as a Justice of the Supreme Court, while the Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of seven new members of the Civil Justice Council (CJC).
The King made the appointment of Lord Justice Snowden on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, following the recommendation of an independent selection commission.
Richard Snowden grew up and was educated at a state school in Redcar in the North-East of England. He studied law as an undergraduate at Downing College, Cambridge and obtained a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.
Lord Justice Snowden was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn in 1986. He practised from Erskine Chambers, specialising in company law, corporate insolvency, financial services and related commercial litigation. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003.
His judicial career began when he was appointed a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2006. He has served as a Deputy High Court Judge, a High Court Judge of the Chancery Division, Vice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster, and Supervising Judge of the Business and Property Courts for the Northern and North-Eastern Circuits from 2019.
Lord Justice Snowden was promoted to the Court of Appeal in October 2021, appointed to the Transparency and Open Justice Board on its inception in 2024, and appointed Lead Judge for International Relations for the judiciary in March 2025.
The Civil Justice Appointments approved by Lord Chancellor are Andrew Brookes (housing), Naomi Creutzfeldt (academic), Frances Harrison (consumer), Owain James (Welsh representative), Jane Portas (insurance), Tim Sawyer (SMEs) and Nigel Teasdale (solicitor).
The members will serve on the council for three years, from January 2026.
The CJC reviews the civil justice system and advises the judiciary, government and rule-makers on reform, accessibility, fairness and efficiency.
Appointments are made by the Secretary of State for Justice and regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
