Brian Kerr, Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore
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Kerr in 2016
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| Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1 October 2009 – 30 September 2020 |
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| Nominated by | Jack Straw |
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Stephens of Creevyloughgare |
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |
| In office 1 July – 30 September 2009 |
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| Preceded by | The Lord Carswell |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland | |
| In office 2004–2009 |
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| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
| Preceded by | Sir Robert Carswell |
| Succeeded by | Sir Declan Morgan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 February 1949 Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, U.K. |
| Died | 1 December 2020 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | British, Irish |
| Spouse | Gillian Widdowson |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Queen's University Belfast |
Brian Francis Kerr, Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore, Kt, PC (/kɜːr/; 23 February 1949 – 1 December 2020) was a Northern Irish barrister and a senior judge. He held office as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and then as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In 2009, he was the last person to receive a life peerage under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. At the time of his retirement on 30 September 2020, he was the longest serving Supreme Court Justice, and the last original member of the Court.
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Early life
Kerr was born on 23 February 1949 to James William Kerr and Kathleen Rose (née Murray) Kerr of Lurgan, County Armagh.
He was educated at St Colman's College, Newry, and read law at Queen's University Belfast. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1970, and to the Bar of England and Wales at Gray's Inn in 1975. He took silk in 1983 and became a member of the Bar of Ireland in 1990, and an Honorary Bencher of Gray's Inn in 1997 and the King's Inns in 2004. He served as Junior Crown Counsel (Common Law) from 1978 to 1983 and Senior Crown Counsel from 1988 to 1993.
Judicial career
Northern Ireland
In 1993, Kerr was appointed a Judge of the High Court and knighted, and in 2004 was appointed Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, only the second Roman Catholic to hold the position, and sworn of the Privy Council.
Kerr regarded the introduction in 1971 of internment without trial in Northern Ireland as having been "calamitous for the rule of law". However, he assessed his Troubles-era experience of the non-jury Diplock courts, introduced to prevent intimidation by paramilitaries, as broadly positive. Citing the "distinguished civil libertarian", Sir Louis Blom-Cooper, he proposed that the non-jury system (in which there was an automatic right of appeal) "was in some senses superior to the jury trial."
As was usual for the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, he succeeded Lord Carswell as the Northern Irish Lord of Appeal in Ordinary upon the latter's retirement.
United Kingdom Supreme Court
On 29 June 2009, he was created Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore, of Tonaghmore in the County of Down, and was introduced to the House of Lords the same day. He was the last person to be appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary (and therefore the last to be given a life peerage under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876). On 1 October 2009 he became one of the inaugural Justices of the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He was the youngest member, at age 61. He was succeeded as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland on 3 July 2009 by Sir Declan Morgan.
Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore dissented from the controversial judgment of the Supreme Court in R v Gnango, in which the court held that a person could be an accessory to his own murder.
In the 2016 Article 50 "Brexit", and 2019 prorogation of Parliament, cases before the Supreme Court, Lord Kerr was a "close questioner of the government submissions".
..... "One only has to read the dreadful circumstances of the young women who were courageous enough to give … an account of their experiences in order to be struck how dreadful those experiences were... It was an extremely important case and one which I was very pleased to be part of."
In 2014, Ulster University awarded Lord Kerr an honorary doctorate in law.
In August 2020 it was announced that he would retire on 30 September 2020.
Defence of judicial review
Following his retirement Lord Kerr defended the practice of judicial review and the £56m cost of creating the Supreme Court in Parliament Square.
Personal life
Kerr married Gillian Widdowson in 1970, and the couple had two sons. He was a Roman Catholic.
Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore died in the early hours of 1 December 2020, aged 71.
Lady Kerr died in July 2022.
Arms
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See also
- List of Northern Ireland Members of the House of Lords
- List of Northern Ireland members of the Privy Council
- The Public Prosecution Service v William Elliott, Robert McKee
- R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
- R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland
