The Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Abstract

The average Lord of Appeal in Ordinary is usually the first person in his family to have been elevated to the House of Lords. That said almost one in fifteen Lords of Appeal have had a father who sat in the House of Lords before them. Lord Asquith was a younger son of William Herbert Asquith, the Liberal Prime Minister who led Britain into the First World War and later became the first Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Lord Thankerton and Lord Keith of Kinkel had fathers who were themselves Lords of Appeal in their day.⁸ Lord Oaksey was the son of a former Lord Chief Justice of England. And the second and third Lords Russell of Killowen came from a quite amazing family that has provided no fewer than three Lords of Appeal in the past.⁹

Family background – nationality – education – early career at the Bar – becoming a Queen’s Counsel – marriage and children – appointment to the bench – promotion within the judiciary – the procedure of appointing a Lord of Appeal – elevation to the House of Lords – biographical details of the Lords of Appeal who have served since 1876