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John Dyson, Lord Dyson

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The Right HonourableLord Dyson
Lord Dyson in 2013
Master of the Rolls
Head of Civil Justice
In office
1 October 2012 – 2 October 2016
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded byThe Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury
Succeeded bySir Terence Etherton
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
In office
12 April 2010 – 1 October 2012
Nominated byJack Straw
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded byThe Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury
Succeeded byLord Hughes of Ombersley
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
11 January 2001 – 12 April 2010
Preceded bySir Martin Nourse
High Court Judge
In office
30 March 1993 – 11 January 2001
Personal details
BornJohn Anthony Dyson
(1943-07-31) 31 July 1943 (age 81)
Spouse Jacqueline Levy ​(m. 1970)​
Children2
Alma materWadham College, Oxford
OccupationJudge
ProfessionBarrister

John Anthony Dyson, Lord Dyson, PC (born 31 July 1943) is a former British judge and barrister. He was Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice, the second most senior judge in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2016, and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2012. He was the first justice to be appointed who was not a peer.

Early life

Dyson has an East European Jewish heritage. His mother was Bulgarian and his paternal grandparents Lithuanian. He was born in Yorkshire and educated at Leeds Grammar School. He studied the piano with Dame Fanny Waterman. He then studied classics at Wadham College, Oxford. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1968.

Legal career

Dyson took silk in 1982 and was appointed a Recorder in 1986. He became a bencher of Middle Temple Inn in 1990. He was the head of 39 Essex Chambers from 1986 to 1993.

He was appointed to the Bench of the High Court on 30 March 1993, sitting in the Queen's Bench Division, and received a knighthood. In 1994, he was appointed chairman of the Equal Treatment Advisory Committee of the Judicial College. In 1998, he became presiding judge of the Technology and Construction Court, a specialist part of the Queen's Bench Division.

On 11 January 2001, Dyson was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal, a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, in succession to Lord Justice Nourse, and was appointed to the Privy Council. In 2003, he was promoted to Deputy Head of Civil Justice.

Dyson was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom with effect from 12 April 2010, and was sworn in on 19 April. His appointment brought the Supreme Court up to full strength by filling a vacancy that had existed since the court began work in October 2009. On appointment, he became the fourth Jewish judge of the 12 Supreme Court justices, alongside Lord Brown, Lord Collins and Lord Phillips.

It was announced in December 2010 that, by Royal Warrant, all members of the Supreme Court, even if they did not hold a peerage, were entitled to the judicial courtesy title of "Lord" for life. Dyson was the first Supreme Court Justice to whom this applied, and he gained the courtesy title Lord Dyson.

According to Standpoint, he was said to have come a "close second" to Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury to succeed Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony as Master of the Rolls in 2009. In the event, Dyson was appointed Master of the Rolls with effect from 1 October 2012 as was widely expected following the announcement of Neuberger's appointment (also with effect from 1 October) as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in July 2012. From 2012 to 2016, he was Chairman of the Magna Carta Trust and of the Advisory Council to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on National Records and Archives. He was chairman of the British Friends of the Hebrew University's legal group.

Dyson retired and was replaced by Sir Terence Etherton as Master of the Rolls on 3 October 2016. He was Treasurer of Middle Temple for 2017. In September 2019 Lord Dyson published his autobiography, A Judge's Journey. In a study published in 2024, he is recorded as openly critical of Lord Hope of Craighead in publishing Diaries revealing Lord Hope's account of judicial panel deliberations and confidential conversations between judges.

He has returned to 39 Essex Chambers to practise as an arbitrator and mediator.

Affiliations

In 2013, Dyson was awarded honorary degrees of LLD by Essex University and University College, London. In 2014, he was awarded an honorary degree of LLD by Leeds University.

He is a visiting professor of law at Queen Mary, London and University College, London.

He is an honorary fellow of Wadham College, Oxford and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Personal life

He has been married to Jacqueline Levy since 1970. They have a daughter and a son. He has said that being Jewish is a core part of his identity.

Coat of arms of John Dyson, Lord Dyson
Notes
Displayed on a wall at the Middle Temple. Based on a sketch by his grandson Justin, involving "white roses of Yorkshire, stars of David, piano keys and mountains".

References

  1. "No. 53265". The London Gazette. 2 April 1993. p. 5975.
  2. "No. 56092". The London Gazette. 16 January 2001. p. 535.
  3. "Orders for 14 March 2001" (PDF). Privy Council Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2010.
  4. "No. 59394". The London Gazette. 19 April 2010. p. 6839.
  5. Hirsch, Afua (19 April 2010). "Sir John Dyson sworn in as 12th supreme court justice". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  6. Elgot, Jessica (26 March 2010). "New Supreme Court Justice Lord Dyson". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  7. "Courtesy titles for Justices of the Supreme Court" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  8. "No. 59746". The London Gazette. 1 April 2011. pp. 6177–6178.
  9. "New Master of the Rolls". Standpoint. 5 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
  10. "No. 60289". The London Gazette. 4 October 2012. p. 19046.
  11. Rozenberg, Joshua (12 July 2012). "Lord Neuberger to be announced as supreme court president". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  12. Baksi, Catherine (12 July 2012). "Neuberger gets top job at Supreme Court". Law Society Gazette. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  13. Elgot, Jessica (26 March 2010). "New Supreme Court Justice Lord Dyson". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. "Past Treasurers of the Inn", Middle Temple website
  15. Hart Publishing (5 Sept. 2019) ISBN 978-1509927845
  16. Mallory, C. and Tyrrell, H., 2024. The Extrajudicial Voice. Legal Studies, 44(1), pp.1-20 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/3A343844D846982771084E4B4CA0850D/S0261387524000023a.pdf/the-extrajudicial-voice.pdf Retrieved 19 April 2024
  17. Bowcott, Owen (21 August 2019). "Former top judge lambasts Grayling and Truss in memoir". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  18. Lord Dyson (5 September 2019). A Judge's Journey.
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Preceded byThe Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury Master of the Rolls
2012–2016 		Succeeded bySir Terence Etherton
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