Richard Aikens

The Right Honourable
Sir Richard Aikens
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
19 November 2008 – 2 November 2015
Preceded byLord Justice Gage
Succeeded byLord Justice Lindblom
Personal details
Born (1948-08-28) 28 August 1948 (age 76)

Sir Richard John Pearson Aikens PC (born 28 August 1948)[1] is a retired British judge, who was a Lord Justice of Appeal from 2008 to 2015.

Career

Aikens was educated at Norwich School and St John's College, Cambridge, where he read history and law.[2][3]

He was called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1973 and joined what is now Brick Court Chambers in 1974. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1986.[4][5] He was appointed a Recorder in 1993,[4] and a Bencher in 1994.[5]

On 6 May 1999, Aikens was appointed to the High Court of Justice, receiving the customary knighthood,[6] and was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. He was a judge of the Commercial and Admiralty Courts from 1999 to 2008, and was in charge of the Commercial Court in 2005–06). He was chairman of the Commercial Court Long Trials Working Party in 2006. On 19 November 2008, Aikens became a Lord Justice of Appeal,[7] and received the customary appointment to the Privy Council the same year. He retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal on 2 November 2015.[8]

After retirement as a judge, Aikens rejoined Brick Court Chambers as a door tenant.[9]

He is a visiting professor at Queen Mary University of London and King's College, London.[10]

Aikens is a supporter of Brexit, writing "our ability to determine our own laws is picked apart by the EU and its unaccountable judges. For the future of our democracy, we should vote Leave".[11] He co-authored a proposal with Guglielmo Verdirame and Professor George Yarrow for Britain to remain in the European Economic Area.[12]

He is married with 2 sons and 2 step daughters.[3][4] Sir Richard is a patron of the arts, serving as a director of the English National Opera 1995-2004,[13] founder and President of the Temple Music Foundation,[14] chairman of Music and Theatre For All,[15] and as a trustee of the Razumovsky Ensemble and Academy.[16][13]

Books

  • Bullen and Leake on Pleadings and Practice (13th edition, 1991)
  • Bills of Lading (2006, 2nd edition 2015)
  • Reforming Marine and Commercial Insurance Law (2008)
  • Tom Bingham and the Transformation of the Law (2009)
  • Law and Society: Which is to be Master (2011)[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Senior Judiciary List Archived 2012-08-03 at archive.today
  2. ^ "Masters of the Bench - The Rt Hon Lord Justice Richard Aikens". The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple. Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Middle Temple".
  4. ^ a b c d Hume, Lucy (5 October 2017). People of Today 2017. eBook Partnership. ISBN 978-1-9997670-3-7. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b England, Joe (22 February 2016). "Interview: Sir Richard Aikens". Counsel Magazine. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  6. ^ "No. 55561". The London Gazette. 23 July 1999. p. 7973.
  7. ^ "Press Notice: Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and Lords Justices of Appeal". number10.gov.uk. 7 July 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Court of Appeal: Retirement of Lord Justice Aikens". 2 November 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Sir Richard Aikens and Robert Webb QC rejoin Brick Court as door tenants | Brick Court Chambers".
  10. ^ "Professor Sir Richard Aikens". School of Law - Queen Mary University of London. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  11. ^ Michael Howard; Richard Aikens (22 June 2016). "The EU's court is picking apart our laws". The Telegraph.
  12. ^ "The EEA Agreement: the key to a simplified Brexit process?". www.briefingsforbritain.co.uk. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Governance – OUTCRY ENSEMBLE". Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Staff and Trustees". Temple Music. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Meet the Team". MTFA. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  16. ^ "The Razumovsky Trust". Retrieved 9 March 2023.


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