Robert Reed, Lord Reed

The Right Honourable Lord Reed
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 February 2012
Preceded by	The Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
Senator of the College of Justice
In office 1998–2012
Nominated by	Tony Blair As Prime Minister
Appointed by	Elizabeth II Queen of the United Kingdom
Personal details
Born	Robert John Reed (1956-09-07) 7 September 1956
Spouse(s)	Jane Mylne
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh; Balliol College, Oxford
Profession	Advocate

Robert John Reed, Lord Reed is a Scottish judge and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He sat as the principal judge in the Commercial Court before being promoted to the Inner House of the Court of Session in 2008. He is an authority on human rights law in Scotland, and serves as one of the UK's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights.

Early life

Reed was educated at the independent George Watson's College in Edinburgh, and studied at the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh, taking a First Class Honours LL.B. and winning a Vans Dunlop Scholarship. He then took a D.Phil. at Balliol College, Oxford, writing a doctoral thesis on "Legal Control of Government Assistance to Industry", and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1983.

Legal career

Reed served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Scottish Education Department from 1988 to 1989, and to the Scottish Office Home and Health Department from 1989 to 1995. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1995, and Advocate Depute in 1996. He was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, the country's Supreme Courts, in 1998, with the judicial title, Lord Reed. He sat initially as a Judge of the Outer House, becoming Principal Commercial Judge in 2006. He is one of the United Kingdom's ad hoc judges at the European Court of Human Rights, and sat in the Grand Chamber judgements on the appeals of the killers of James Bulger in 1999. Between 2002 and 2004, he was an expert advisor to the EU/Council of Europe Joint Initiative with Turkey. He was promoted to the Inner House (First Division) in 2008, and appointed to the Privy Council. He sat on the Bench of the UK Supreme Court during the illness of Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, along with Lord Clarke, and was correctly identified by legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg as a candidate to succeed Lord Rodger. The selection committee was established on 25 July 2011.

He has been Chairman of the Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee since 2005, and was President of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment from 2006–08, now serving as Vice-President. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law from 2001 to 06, and of the UN Task Force on Access to Justice since 2006. He is Convener of the charity, Children in Scotland (2006–), and Chairman of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Commercial Law (2008–). He has been an Honorary Professor of Law at Glasgow Caledonian University since 2005, and the School of Law of the University of Glasgow since 2006.

On 20 December 2011, it was announced that Reed would replace the late Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was sworn in on 6 February 2012.

Personal life

He married Jane Mylne in 1988, with whom he has two daughters. He succeeded Lord Rodger of Earlsferry as the Visitor of Balliol College, Oxford.

See also

• List of Senators of the College of Justice