Nicholas Wall (judge)

Sir Nicholas Peter Rathbone Wall, PC (14 March 1945 – 17 February 2017) was an English judge who was President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice for England and Wales.

The Right Honourable
Sir Nicholas Wall
Wall in 2012
President of the Family Division
In office
13 April 2010 – 1 December 2012
Nominated byGordon Brown
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded bySir Mark Potter
Succeeded bySir James Munby
Personal details
Born
Nicholas Peter Rathbone Wall

(1945-03-14)14 March 1945
Died17 February 2017(2017-02-17) (aged 71)
NationalityEnglish
Alma materTrinity College, Cambridge

Early life

Nicholas Wall was born in Clapham on 14 March 1945, the son of Frederick, a director of Stanley Gibbons, and Mimi (née Woods). He won a London County Council scholarship to Dulwich College, an independent day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich in South London, followed by an Exhibition to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read English and then Law[1] and was president of the Union.

Wall was called to the bar (Gray's Inn) in 1969 and was made a Bencher in 1993. He became a Queen's Counsel and was appointed an Assistant Recorder in 1988. He became a Recorder in 1990. He was appointed to the Family Division of the High Court on 20 April 1993,[2] receiving the customary knighthood. Wall was a Judge of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (2001–2003) and the Administrative Court (2003–2004). He was promoted to the Court of Appeal on 12 January 2004[3] and consequently made a Privy Counsellor.

Wall was nominated to be President of the Family Division by the appointments panel, but the Lord Chancellor, Jack Straw, asked them to reconsider. The panel once again put Wall forward, and he was subsequently appointed to the position on 13 April 2010.[4] Wall retired on 1 December 2012 for health reasons.[5][6]

According to Straw, he "simply judged that he would not be competent to do the job", based on his own experience with him.[7]

Death

Wall died on 17 February 2017. His family stated that he had recently been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and had taken his own life.[8]

References
  1. Butler-Sloss, Elizabeth (1 March 2017). "Sir Nicholas Wall obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  2. "No. 53284". The London Gazette. 23 April 1993. pp. 7209–7210.
  3. "No. 57179". The London Gazette. 15 January 2004. p. 509.
  4. "No. 59393". The London Gazette. 16 April 2010. p. 6727.
  5. Number10.gov.uk (20 December 2012). "Appointment of President of the Family Division" (Press release). Judiciary of England and Wales. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  6. "Retirement of the President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice for England and Wales" (Press release). Judiciary of England and Wales. 28 September 2012. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  7. Ekins, Richard; Gee, Graham (2021). Reforming the Lord Chancellor's Role in Senior Judicial Appointments (PDF). Policy Exchange. ISBN 978-1-913459-56-7.
  8. "Ex family court head takes own life after dementia diagnosis". BBC News. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2017.



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