.svg)
Nicholas Francis (judge)
British judge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Peter Nicholas Francis is a British retired High Court judge.[2]
.svg)
Sir Nicholas Francis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Justice of the High Court | |
| In office 3 October 2016 – 1 May 2024 | |
| Monarch | Charles III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Peter Nicholas Francis 22 April 1958 |
| Alma mater | Downing College, Cambridge |
Early life
Francis was educated at Radley College and Downing College, Cambridge.[2]
Career
Francis was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1981, and became a King's Counsel in 2002. He specialised in family law, and became head of chambers at 29 Bedford Row in 2002.[2]
He was appointed as an Assistant Recorder in 1999 and later a Recorder to sit on the South Eastern Circuit in July, 2000.[3][4]
He would be appointed as a Deputy High Court judge in 2011. He would later be appointed as a High Court judge in 2016 and assigned to the Family Division by the Lord Chief Justice. He received the customary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II on16th of December 2016.[5][6]
On 22 April 2024, the Lady Chief Justice issued Francis with formal advice for misconduct related to having delayed the issuing of a judgement by 18 months after the hearing had taken place. Francis accepted the finding of the nominated judge and expressed his regret at the delay. His explanation that at the time he was facing challenging personal circumstances and a busy workload was taken into consideration as mitigating circumstances.[7]
Francis retired 1 May 2024.[8]
Notable cases
In 2017, he ruled on the controversial best interests case of Charlie Gard.[9]
.svg){kind=small}
