Martin Griffiths (judge)

The Honourable
Mr Justice Griffiths
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
High Court Judge
King's Bench Division
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2019
MonarchCharles III
Personal details
Born (1962-04-27) 27 April 1962 (age 62)
United Kingdom
Alma materNew College, Oxford

Sir Martin Alexander Griffiths (born 27 April 1962)[1] is a British High Court judge.

Griffiths was educated at the City of London School and attended New College, Oxford on an open scholarship, taking a first-class BA in modern history and modern languages in 1984 which was promoted to an MA in 1988. After his undergraduate studies, he completed a graduate diploma in law at City University in 1985 and his vocational barrister training at the Inns of Court School of Law.[1]

He was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1986; he volunteered at Waterloo Legal Advice Service from 1988 to 1993. In practice, he specialised in commercial law and practised from Essex Court Chambers.[2][3] He took silk in 2006, served as a recorder from 2009 to 2019, and was appointed a deputy High Court judge in 2016. He was a member of the Bar Council from 2008 to 2015.[1]

On 1 October 2019, Griffiths was appointed a judge of the High Court and assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, replacing Dame Nicola Davies who was promoted to the Court of Appeal.[4][5] He took the customary knighthood in the same year. Since 2022, he has been Presiding Judge of the Wales circuit, succeeding Sir Simon Picken.[1][6]

In 1995, he married Susan Burden (a barrister), with whom he has two sons and a daughter.[4] He is multilingual and speaks French and Italian.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d "Griffiths, Hon. Sir Martin (Alexander), (born 27 April 1962)". Who's Who (UK). 1 December 2021. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u245309. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Martin Griffiths". The Legal 500. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Martin Griffiths QC Appointed as Justice of the High Court". Essex Court Chambers. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Senior Judiciary". Judiciary UK. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Judicial appointments and retirements". The Times. 12 November 2019. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  6. ^ "New Presiding Judges Appointed". Judiciary UK. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2022.