The Vice-President of the Civil Division is a Court of Appeal Judge who assists the Master of the Rolls in leading the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The power to appoint a vice-president was created by the Senior Courts Act 1981,[n 1] but was not exercised until Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers was appointed Master of the Rolls in 2000. Because Lord Phillips was in the process of completing the inquiry into the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak, he appointed Sir Martin Nourse the first vice-president so he could serve as Acting Master of the Rolls.[3]
Lord Phillips opted to appoint a successor on Sir Martin Nourse's retirement the following year to deputise when he was abroad. Sir Simon Brown took up the office on the condition that he have no duties unless Lord Phillips was in fact out of the country. The next holder, Sir Henry Brooke expanded his duties to include liaising with the Court of Appeal office, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Bar Pro Bono Unit and the Personal Support Unit; editing the Annual Review; taking a lead on the court's information technology efforts; leading the team dealing with asylum work; and overseeing the editing of the Asylum Bench Book and the Court of Appeal Bench Book.[3] Since then, successive Lords and Lady Justices have filled the position.
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