Geoffrey Vos

Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos (born 22 April 1955) is a judge in England and Wales. Since January 2021, he has held the positions of Master of the Rolls and the Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales.[1]

The Right Honourable
Sir Geoffrey Vos
Vos in 2022
Master of the Rolls
Assumed office
11 January 2021
Monarchs
Preceded bySir Terence Etherton
Chancellor of the High Court
In office
24 October 2016 – 11 January 2021
Preceded bySir Terence Etherton
Succeeded bySir Julian Flaux
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
1 October 2013 – 23 October 2016
Personal details
Born (1955-04-22) 22 April 1955
Alma materGonville and Caius College, Cambridge

Early life

Geoffrey Charles Vos was born on 22 April 1955 to Bernard Vos and Pamela Celeste Rose (née Heilbuth) Vos.[2][3] He was educated at University College School, London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.[2]

Career

Vos was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1977, and practised in commercial and chancery litigation, both domestically and internationally. He took silk in 1993 and served as chair of the Chancery Bar Association from 1999 to 2001 and as chair of the Bar Council in 2007.

Judge

Sir Geoffrey began his judicial career with appointment as a deputy High Court Judge in 1999. Having sat in the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey between 2005 and 2009, and in the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands between 2008 and 2009, he was appointed as a High Court Judge in October 2009.[4]

He sat as a Deputy High Court Judge from 1999 until 2009 and was appointed as a Justice of the High Court, assigned to the Chancery Division, in October 2009. He was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2013. He was President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary between 2014 and June 2016. He became Chancellor of the High Court on 24 October 2016.

Master of the Rolls

Sir Geoffrey Vos was appointed the Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales on 11 January 2021, succeeding Sir Terence Etherton.[5]

In addition to being President of the Court of Appeal's Civil Division, the Master of the Rolls is chair of both the Civil Justice Council and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. He is chair of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives and of the Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research.[6] He is also a member of the LawtechUK Panel and chair of its UK Jurisdiction Taskforce.[7]

In March 2021, Sir Geoffrey disclosed that the Civil Justice Council was "looking at the extent to which litigants should be forced to mediate and if so, in what circumstances". He admitted the idea is "highly controversial".[8]

In April 2021, he called for a greater use of digital technology to accelerate the dispute resolution process.[9] In May 2021, he outlined his vision for digital justice reform in more detail, and the need to reform the overall system, rather than focusing only on the judicial decision-making process. Emphasising the need to focus on the whole picture, he said: "We should not allow the tail, however waggy, to wag the huge dispute resolution dog".[10]

Affiliations

Sir Geoffrey was chairman of the Social Mobility Foundation from 2008 to 2011. He is Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn for 2023, was made an honorary bencher of the King’s Inn, Dublin in 2021, and is an honorary fellow of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge. He was awarded an LLD (hons) by the University of Hull in January 2023.

He is a member of the Council of the European Law Institute and of the Steering Group of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts.

Notable decisions

Notable judicial decisions of Sir Geoffrey include:

Personal life

Sir Geoffrey married Vivien Mary Fieldhouse, in 1984.[2] Sir Geoffrey is a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Club and an honorary member of the Worcestershire Golf Club.[2] He is a member of both the Liberal Jewish Synagogue St John's Wood and the Herefordshire Jewish community.[11]

References
  1. "Master of the Rolls: 31 July 2020". 10 Downing Street. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  2. "Vos, Rt Hon. Sir Geoffrey (Charles)". Who's Who. 1 December 2020. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U41205. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  3. Obituary: Pamela Vos, legacy.com. Accessed 28 July 2023.
  4. "New Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, starts his appointment". Judiciary.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  5. Slingo, Jemma (12 January 2021). "'Lonely, socially distanced' new MR is sworn in". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  6. "Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. "Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  8. Hyde, John (29 March 2021). "Compulsory mediation back on the table as too few opting into ADR". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. Croft, Jane (5 April 2021). "Top judge urges reform in civil lawsuit system in England and Wales". Financial Times. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. "Keynote Speech by The Right Hon. Sir Geoffrey Vos for London International Disputes Week 2021". Judiciary.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  11. "Geoffrey Vos is appointed as a High Court judge". Thejc.com. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
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