Judge with AI-background appointed to top judicial post
A senior judge with a background in artificial intelligence (AI) has been named as the next Master of the Rolls.
His Majesty King Charles III has approved the appointment of Sir Colin Birss to the role, following the retirement of Sir Geoffrey Vos. Birss currently serves as chancellor of the High Court and has been the judiciary’s lead judge for AI since 2023.
The Lady Chief Justice welcomed the appointment, saying:
“I am delighted that, today, The King has appointed Sir Colin Birss as the Master of the Rolls. Sir Colin has served as the Chancellor of the High Court and, before that, as the Deputy Head of Civil Justice. Amongst many other roles, he has also been the Lead Judge for Artificial Intelligence. His judicial and leadership experience, alongside his technological and digital expertise, make him ideally placed to take on this important role.”
Birss was called to the bar in 1990 and took silk in 2008. His judicial career began in 2009 as deputy chair of the Copyright Tribunal, before he was appointed a specialist circuit judge in 2010 and a High Court judge assigned to the Chancery Division in 2013.
He moved up to the Court of Appeal in 2021, taking on the deputy head of Civil Justice role, and was named lead judge for AI two years later.
As Master of the Rolls, Birss will become President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal and Head of Civil Justice, ranking second in judicial seniority behind the Lady Chief Justice. The role carries responsibility for the deployment and organisation of Court of Appeal civil judges, along with pastoral oversight of the division and supervision of around 140 county courts nationwide.
In a separate appointment announced alongside Birss’s, Lord Justice Warby has been named President of the King’s Bench Division, succeeding Dame Victoria Sharp on her retirement. The post was created in 2005, with the role previously falling to the Lord Chief Justice.
