Appointment of new Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland announced

Following the appointment of Sir Brian Kerr as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, it has been announced that The Honourable Mr Justice Declan Morgan is to be appointed Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland with effect from 3 July 2009.

Sir Declan Morgan was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge.  He was called to the Bar in 1976 and took Silk in 1993.  He was Senior Crown Counsel for Northern Ireland from 2002 until his appointment as a High Court Judge in May 2004.  He was appointed to the Family Division in January 2007 and in September 2008 became one of two judges with responsibility for judicial review.  Sir Declan was appointed Chairman of the Law Reform Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland in 2004.  In April 2007 he was appointed Chairman of the Northern Ireland Law Commission.