High Court Judge - Title and Form of Address

Title and Form of Address

Upon appointment all High Court judges are knighted (usually as a Knight Bachelor), or in the case of female judges made Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire. So, for example, Nigel Bridge became Sir Nigel Bridge and Brenda Hale became Dame Brenda Hale DBE.

In court, a High Court judge is referred to as My Lord or Your Lordship if male, or as My Lady or Your Ladyship if female. High Court judges use the title in office of Mr Justice for men or Mrs Justice for women, even if unmarried. The style of The Honourable (or The Hon) is also used during office. For example, Sir Joseph Bloggs would be referred to as The Hon Mr Justice Bloggs and Dame Jane Bloggs DBE as The Hon Mrs Justice Bloggs DBE, for as long as they continue to hold office. When there is already or has until recently been a judge with the same surname as a new appointee, the new judge will often use a first name as part of his or her official title. Many judges have done this, such as Mr Justice Christopher Clarke (Sir Christopher Simon Courternay Stephenson Clarke) and Mr Justice Roderick Evans (Sir David Roderick Evans).

When referring to a High Court judge in a legal context, the judge is identified by use of the surname (or first name and surname if appropriate), followed by the letter 'J'. For example, Mr Justice Bloggs or Mrs Justice Bloggs would be referred to as "Bloggs J". Where several judges are listed the double letters 'JJ' are used; for example, "Bloggs, Smith and Jones JJ".