Year in life of the Supreme Court

The Right Honourable the Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony is the guest speaker for the University’s annual Bracton Lecture, open to students and Exeter legal practitioners to attend the free public event. Lord Clarke was the first Justice to be appointed directly to the court when it came into existence on 1 October 2009. The UK Supreme Court replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the land and embodies the ideas at the heart of the British justice system of the separation of powers and the rule of law.

Lord Clarke has been involved in a number of high profile cases such as the control orders ruling in June this year; a subject which is now central stage on the government’s agenda. His visit therefore also gives the local legal profession who are invited to the lecture the prospect of engaging directly with a member of the senior judiciary on these issues.

A group of students will have the opportunity to give presentations on issues ranging from family law to human rights to Lord Clarke during a student-led workshop. This will provide them with the chance to show their academic and oratory skills, also enhancing their own employability. 

Dr Sue Prince, senior lecturer in Law at the University of Exeter said ‘This visit also gives our students the opportunity to learn about the way that the law is made from first-hand experience rather than from books. Lord Clarke can offer students insights into the workings of the highest court in the United Kingdom and also talk about recent judgments of both constitutional and fundamental importance.’

In 1993 he became a High Court judge and in 1998 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal to England and Wales. In the 27 years Lord Clarke has spent at the Bar, he has specialised in the areas of maritime and commercial law. He is also an Honorary Graduate of the University of Exeter.