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Lord Kitchin to retire from the UK Supreme Court    

Lord Kitchin to retire from the UK Supreme Court

Wednesday 1 February 2023

Lord Kitchin has today announced his intention to retire from the UK Supreme Court at the end of the legal year, 29 September 2023.

Lord Kitchin
Lord Kitchin

Lord Kitchin became a Supreme Court Justice in October 2018, making him the fifth longest serving of the current Justices. In that time, he has made an enormous and valued contribution to the Court's work.

Lord Kitchin said:

“It has been an enormous privilege and pleasure to serve as a full time Justice of the Court. This is the right time for me to step down and it will give me an opportunity to spend more time with my family and to pursue other interests.”

Notes to editors

  • It is expected that the Lord Chancellor will convene an independent selection commission under rules set by Parliament to fill the vacancy resulting from the forthcoming retirement of Lord Kitchin.

  • Biography:

    David James Tyson Kitchin, Lord Kitchin, became a Justice of the Supreme Court in October 2018.

    After studying Natural Sciences and Law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, Lord Kitchin was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1977. He became a Queen”s Counsel in 1994 and was elected a Bencher of Gray's Inn in 2003. His practice covered all aspects of intellectual property including patents, trade marks, copyright, designs and trade secrets.

    Lord Kitchin was appointed a judge of the High Court, Chancery Division in 2005 and Senior Judge of the Patents Court in 2007. From 2009 to 2011 he was the Chancery Supervising Judge for the Midland, Western and Wales Circuits. He was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2011 and was the Lord Justice responsible for the supervision of intellectual property appeals.

    Lord Kitchin is the Chair of the Advisory Council of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London and has been awarded an honorary LL.D. by that university. He is an honorary fellow of Fitzwilliam College. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Science Museum in London.

  • For press enquiries, contact Scot Marchbank – Head of Communications – scot.marchbank@supremecourt.uk – (+44)(0)7760 991037 or Cloe Ofori – Media and Communications Manager – cloe.ofori@supremecourt.uk – (+44)(0)7909 686 541