Lord Sales appointed as the next Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court

Lord Sales will succeed the Right Hon Lord Hodge as Deputy President of the Supreme Court who is retiring at the end of December, and he will take up this post in January 2026.

Lord Sales was educated at the Royal Grammar School in Guildford, before reading law at both Churchill College, Cambridge, and Worcester College, Oxford.

Lord Sales was called to the Bar of England and Wales at Lincoln's Inn in 1985 and was appointed First Treasury Junior Counsel in 1997. He was an Assistant Recorder from 1999 to 2001, Recorder from 2001 and 2008, and Deputy High Court Judge from 2004 and 2008.

Lord Sales became a Queen's Counsel in 2006 and continued to act in the re-named post of First Treasury Counsel Common Law until his appointment to the High Court, Chancery Division in 2008. He was a member of the Competition Appeal Tribunal between 2008 and 2015, and Vice-President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal between 2014 and 2015.

Between 2009 and 2014 Lord Sales served as Deputy Chair of the Boundary Commission for England. He was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2014, and became a Justice of the Supreme Court in January 2019.

The role of Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court is to work alongside the President to oversee the judicial work of the Court, working closely also with the Chief Executive who leads the Court administration. The Deputy President shares a wider leadership and ambassadorial role for the Court, meeting with Parliamentarians, the government, and other courts across the UK. They also take the lead on engagement with overseas apex courts and international judicial organisations. Within the Court, the Deputy President fosters collegiality amongst the Justices and a collaborative working culture with the staff who support the work of the Court.

Speaking upon his appointment Lord Sales said:

“It is a great honour to be appointed as the Deputy President of the Supreme Court. The Court has a reputation around the world as a source of leading judgments of the highest quality in all areas of law. As Deputy President, I am looking forward to continuing to uphold the Court’s traditions of integrity, impartiality and legal excellence."

“I am also looking forward to maintaining those same traditions in the work of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which is the other jurisdiction in which Supreme Court Justices make a major contribution to the law.”

The President of the Court Lord Reed said:

“I am very pleased that Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court following Lord Hodge’s retirement at the end of the year.

Lord Sales is recognised around the world as an outstanding judge. As Deputy President, he will make an even greater contribution to the work of the Supreme Court and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Lord Sales will be sworn in as Deputy President in January 2026.

Notes to Editors;

The full process for appointing a Supreme Court Justice can be found here: Appointments of Justices - The Supreme Court

Previous Deputy Presidents of the Supreme Court were:

Lord Reed (2018-2020)

Lord Mance (2017-2018)

Lady Hale (2013-2017)

Lord Hope (2009-2013)

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