Robert Walker, Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe
Robert Walker, Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe GBS, PC (born 17 March 1938) is a former barrister and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He also serves as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal.[1]
The Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe | |||||||||
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| Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 1 October 2009 – 17 March 2013 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Jack Straw | ||||||||
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Position created | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lord Toulson | ||||||||
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |||||||||
| In office 1 October 2002 – 30 September 2009 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Slynn of Hadley | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Position abolished | ||||||||
| Lord Justice of Appeal | |||||||||
| In office 1997–2002 | |||||||||
| High Court Judge | |||||||||
| In office 1994–1997 | |||||||||
| Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong | |||||||||
| Assumed office 1 March 2009 | |||||||||
| Appointed by | Donald Tsang | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Robert Walker 17 March 1938 | ||||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||||
| Spouse |
Suzanne Diana Leggi (m. 1962) | ||||||||
| Residence(s) | London and Essex | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge | ||||||||
| Occupation | Judge | ||||||||
| Profession | Barrister | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 華學佳 | ||||||||
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He sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher until his retirement from the House on 17 March 2021.[2]
Early life and non-judicial career
Born on 17 March 1938, the son of Ronald Robert Antony Walker by his wife Mary Helen, Walker was educated at Downside School and Trinity College, Cambridge from where he graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics and Law. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1960 and became a Queen's Counsel in 1982.
In 2010 he was the Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn.
He is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe has served on the Honorary Editorial Board of the Warwick Student Law Review since its inception in 2010.
Judicial career
In 1994, Walker was appointed a High Court Judge in the Chancery Division, and as is customary was then made a Knight Bachelor, before appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 1997. He succeeded Lord Slynn of Hadley GBE as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in 2002 and was created a Life Peer as Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe, of Gestingthorpe in the County of Essex.[3][4] He and nine other Lords of Appeal in Ordinary became Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom upon its inauguration on 1 October 2009.
Personal life
Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe married Suzanne Diana Leggi in 1962. They have one son (Robert, born 1963) and three daughters (Penelope Mary, born 1966; Julian Diana, born 1968; and Henrietta Solveig, born 1972).
Notable judgments
- Re A (Children) (Conjoined Twins: Surgical Separation) [2001] Fam 147
- Gillett v Holt [2000] 3 WLR 815
- Re Spectrum Plus Ltd [2005] UKHL 41
- Moore Stephens v Stone Rolls Ltd [2009] UKHL 39
- HJ and HT v Home Secretary [2010] UKSC 31
- Futter & Anor v HMRC; Pitt & Anor v HMRC [2013] UKSC 26
- Moulin Global Eyecare Trading Ltd v Commissioner of Inland Revenue, FACV 5/2013, (2014) 17 HKCFAR 218
- Chang Wa Shan v Esther Chan Pui Kwan, FACV 2/2018, (2018) 21 HKCFAR 370
Arms
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External links
References
- "List of Judges and Judicial Officers (Position as at 1 September 2010)". Archived from the original on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- "Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe". UK Parliament. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
- "No. 56712". The London Gazette. 4 October 2002. p. 11976.
- House of Lords (8 October 2002). "Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords". minutes of proceedings. Retrieved 9 November 2006.
- "Lincoln's Inn Great Hall, Ed28 Walker". Baz Manning. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
