The Right Honourable The Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony PC QC |
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Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |
Assumed office 1 October 2009 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | Position created |
Master of the Rolls | |
In office 3 October 2005 – 30 September 2009 |
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Preceded by | The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG |
Succeeded by | The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury |
Lord Justice of Appeal | |
In office 1998–2005 |
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High Court Judge | |
In office 1993–1998 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Anthony Peter Clarke 13 May 1943 |
Nationality | British |
Spouse(s) | Rosemary, Lady Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony |
Education | Oakham School |
Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
Occupation | Judge |
Profession | Barrister |
Religion | Anglican |
Website | http://www.shipwrights.co.uk |
Anthony Peter Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, PC, QC (born 13 May 1943) is one of the first eleven Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices, and was the first High Court Judge to be appointed directly to that court when it came into existence on 1 October 2009 without having sat as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was also appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 11 April 2011 as a non-permanent judge from other common law jurisdictions. He was previously Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales.
Clarke was educated at Oakham School. In 1957 the trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams first made him interested in pursuing a career in the law. He read economics and law at King's College, Cambridge, before being called, in 1965, to the Bar at Middle Temple where he specialised in commercial and maritime law. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1979, and was a Recorder sitting in both criminal and civil courts from 1985 to 1992.
In 1993, Clarke became a High Court judge and, as is customary, was appointed a Knight Bachelor. He was allocated to the Queen's Bench Division and, in April 1993, he succeeded Mr Justice Sheen as the Admiralty Judge. He sat in the Admiralty Court, the Commercial Court and the Crown Court, trying commercial and criminal cases respectively.