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Adrian Fulford

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The Right Honourable
Sir Adrian Fulford
Investigatory Powers Commissioner
In office
3 March 2017 – October 2019
Nominated byThe Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd
as Lord Chief Justice
Appointed byTheresa May
as Prime Minister
Lord Justice of Appeal
In office
10 May 2013 – 1 October 2022
Nominated byDavid Cameron
as Prime Minister
Appointed byElizabeth II
Judge of the International Criminal Court
In office
11 March 2003 – 31 August 2012
Nominated byThe Lord Irvine of Lairg
as Lord Chancellor
Appointed byAssembly of States Parties
High Court judge
Queen's Bench Division
In office
2002–2013
Appointed byElizabeth II
Personal details
Born
Adrian Bruce Fulford

(1953-01-08) 8 January 1953 (age 71)
Alma materUniversity of Southampton

Sir Adrian Bruce Fulford PC (born 8 January 1953)[1] is a retired Lord Justice of Appeal. From 2017 to 2019, he was the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner,[2] and was the Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) in 2019, succeeding Lady Justice Hallett.[3]

Previously, he was a judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague from 2003–12, the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales from January 2016 to March 2017, and former member of the National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL).

Early life

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Fulford was born on 8 January 1953. He was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey and went up to the University of Southampton, gaining a LLB. From 1974 to 1975, he served as a housing advisor at Shelter's Housing Aid Service.[1]

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He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple as a barrister in 1978, and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994.[1]

One of Fulford’s earliest, and most prominent cases was serving as barrister to Mr Ronnie Bolden, on trial at the Old Bailey in 1989 charged with armed robbery by the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad (SCS), which was later disbanded.

Judicial career

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In 1995, Fulford was made a Recorder of the Crown Court (re-appointed in 2001). His appointment as a High Court judge on 21 November 2002[4] was only the second such appointment of an openly homosexual QC,[5][6] and the first to the King's Bench Division (then called the Queen's Bench Division).[citation needed].

High Court

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He was appointed to the Queen's Bench Division and received the customary knighthood. Though he became a judge of the International Criminal Court in 2003, Fulford continued his work at the High Court, presiding over a number of high-profile cases. Among these were the 21 July 2005 London bombings trial,[7] an extremist Muslim plot to cause deadly explosions similar to those which killed over 50 people on 7 July; the trial of terrorist plotter Saajid Badat;[8] and the trial of PC Simon Harwood for the death of a street newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson in the City of London. Fulford's term on the ICC ended on 11 March 2012.

On 11 May 2012, Fulford imposed a whole life order on David Oakes, who was convicted at the Crown Court at Chelmsford of the premeditated and sadistic murder of his former partner and daughter. Fulford also presided over the trial of Jiervon Barlett and Najed Hoque who were accused of the manslaughter of Paula Castle, a woman mugged in Greenford, West London. He sentenced them to 13 years.[9][10]

Fulford received the UK Government's nomination, and was subsequently elected in 2003 to serve, as one of 18 judges of the International Criminal Court for a term of nine years, and was assigned to the Trial Division.[11] He was sworn into office on 11 March 2003.[12] Fulford presided over the ICC's first trial, that of Thomas Lubanga,[13] and in that capacity delivered the court's first guilty verdict on 14 March 2012.[14]

Court of Appeal

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On 10 May 2013, Fulford was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal.[15]

In March 2014, the Mail on Sunday printed allegations that Fulford had been a supporter of the Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE) in the 1970s. Following this allegation, he stepped down from judging criminal cases and an official investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office took place. The investigation, by Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, concluded on 18 June 2014 that the allegations against Fulford were "without substance" and he "was not and had never been a supporter of PIE or its aims". Following his exoneration, Fulford resumed sitting as a judge on the full range of appeals.

Fulford was appointed as the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2015, and was promoted to Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2016 succeeding Peter Gross. On 31 March 2017, Fulford stood down from this position, to accept appointment as the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner in which role he will be supported by fifteen senior judges appointed under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.[16]

In 2021, he presided over the sentencing of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard. Sentencing him at the Old Bailey to a whole-life tariff,[17] Fulford described the case as "devastating, tragic and wholly brutal"[18] and told Couzens he had eroded public confidence in the police.[19]

On 1 October 2022, Fulford retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal.[20]

Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Fulford, Rt Hon. Sir Adrian Bruce, (born 8 Jan. 1953)". Who's Who (UK). 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u16554. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Investigatory Powers Commissioner appointed: Lord Justice Fulford". gov.uk. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Appointment of the Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)". 30 May 2019.
  4. ^ "No. 56765". The London Gazette. 26 November 2002. p. 14343.
  5. ^ "Comment: Gay judge reflects on thirty years as an out lawyer". PinkNews.co.uk. 28 November 2008.
  6. ^ "First openly gay judge to lead LGBT veterans probe". BBC News. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Kevin (12 July 2007). "4 in London Bomb Plot Get Life Terms". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Shoebomb plotter given 13 years". BBC News Online. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
  9. ^ "David Oakes jailed for murder of former partner and two-year-old daughter". The Daily Telegraph. 11 May 2012.
  10. ^ "David Oakes jailed for ex-partner and daughter murders". BBC News Online. 11 May 2012.
  11. ^ "Judge Sir Adrian Fulford". International Criminal Court. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
  12. ^ "Genocide Watch: 18 Judges Elected to International Criminal Court". Archived from the original on 11 April 2003.
  13. ^ "Decision notifying the election of the Presiding Judge in the case against Mr. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo" (PDF). International Criminal Court. 12 July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
  14. ^ "ICC finds Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty". BBC News. 14 March 2012.
  15. ^ "No. 60505". The London Gazette. 15 May 2013. p. 9621.
  16. ^ "Appointment of the new Senior Presiding Judge".
  17. ^ "Sarah Everard's killer sentenced live: Wayne Couzens's lawyer says he's 'full of self-loathing' as he appears in court for sentence". Sky News. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Wayne Couzens Sentencing Remarks" (PDF). Central Criminal Court. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Sarah Everard murder: Wayne Couzens handed whole-life sentence". BBC News. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  20. ^ "Court of Appeal: Retirement of Lord Justice Adrian Fulford". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. October 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  21. ^ "No. 56873". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 March 2003. p. 1014.
  22. ^ "Our honorary graduates". University of Southampton. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
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