Adrian Fulford

He was appointed to the Queen's Bench Division and received the customary knighthood. Though he became a judge of the International Criminal Court in 2003, Fulford continued his work at the High Court, presiding over a number of high-profile cases. Among these were the 21 July 2005 London bombings trial,[6] an extremist Muslim plot to cause deadly explosions similar to those which killed over 50 people on 7 July; the trial of terrorist plotter Saajid Badat;[7] and the trial of PC Simon Harwood for the death of a street newspaper seller Iam Tomlinson in the City of London. Fulford's term on the ICC ended on 11 March 2012.

On 11 May 2012, Fulford imposed a whole life order on David Oakes, who was convicted at the Crown Court at Chelmsford of the premeditated and sadistic murder of his former partner and daughter. Fulford also presided over the trial of Jiervon Barlett and Najed Hoque who were accused of the manslaughter of Paula Castle, a woman mugged in Greenford, West London. He sentenced them to 13 years.[8][9]

Fulford received the UK Government's nomination, and was subsequently elected in 2003 to serve, as one of 18 judges of the International Criminal Court for a term of nine years, and was assigned to the Trial Division.[10] He was sworn into office on 11 March 2003.[11] Fulford presided over the ICC's first trial, that of Thomas Lubanga,[12] and in that capacity delivered the court's first guilty verdict on 14 March 2012.[13]

On 10 May 2013, Fulford was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal.[14]

In March 2014, the Mail on Sunday printed allegations that Fulford had been a supporter of the Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE) in the 1970s. Following this allegation, he stepped down from judging criminal cases and an official investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office took place. The investigation, by Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, concluded on 18 June 2014 that the allegations against Fulford were "without substance" and he "was not and had never been a supporter of PIE or its aims". Following his exoneration, Fulford resumed sitting as a judge on the full range of appeals.

Fulford was appointed as the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2015, and was promoted to Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2016 succeeding Peter Gross. On 31 March 2017, Fulford stood down from this position, to accept appointment as the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner in which role he will be supported by fifteen senior judges appointed under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.[15]

In 2021, he presided over the sentencing of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard. Sentencing him at the Old Bailey to a whole-life tariff,[16] Fulford described the case as "devastating, tragic and wholly brutal"[17] and told Couzens he had eroded public confidence in the police.[18]

On 1 October 2022, Fulford retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal.[19]