18 January 2008
Jack Straw, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, today announced that Ms Jenny Rowe will become the first Chief Executive of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom upon its creation in late 2009.
In the interim Ms Rowe will act as Chief Executive designate and take up the post overseeing the creation of the Supreme Court. She will work with the Supreme Court implementation team and the Law Lords.
Jack Straw said:
'I look forward to working with Jenny Rowe in establishing the new Supreme Court that will endure as a symbol of our commitment to justice and the independence of the judiciary.'
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom replaces the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The Supreme Court will become operational in October 2009 and will be situated on Parliament Square in the refurbished Middlesex Guildhall building.
When the new institution opens, the existing Law Lords will become the first Justices of the Supreme Court, and the Senior Law Lord will become the President. For the purposes of appointing the Chief Executive under section 48(2) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chancellor consulted the current senior Law Lord, Lord Bingham of Cornhill.
Notes
1. Ms Jenny Rowe is currently Director of Policy and Administration at the Office of the Attorney General. Immediately prior to that appointment she was the Secretary to the Butterfield Review of HM Customs & Excise Investigation and Prosecution Work and undertook two independent Reviews of HMCPS Inspectorate and of the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers.
Ms Rowe has worked for the former Lord Chancellor's Department in a number of posts, including as the Director of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Director of Corporate Services Group and Principal Private Secretary to the then Lord Chancellor.
2. Until the Supreme Court becomes operational Ms Rowe will be located between the Judicial Office of the House of Lords and the office of the Supreme Court implementation team in the Ministry of Justice headquarters.
3. In March 2005, the Constitutional Reform Act received Royal Assent. It establishes the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and marks the functional separation of the judiciary from the legislature and the executive. It will take over the jurisdiction of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, and the devolved functions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British Crown dependencies).
4. It will be the final court of appeal for all criminal and civil cases from England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will be the final court of appeal for civil cases only from Scotland.
5. The Chief Executive will be responsible to the President for the operation of the Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court comes into existence, the senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary will become the President of the Court and the second senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary will become the Deputy President of the Court.
6. A key role of the Chief Executive will be to ensure that the Supreme Court is managed effectively as an independent entity without jeopardising the judicial independence of the Justices.