Three new justices have been appointed to the supreme court bench, including a third woman, narrowing the gender gap in the UK’s highest judicial institution.
Lady Justice Arden will join the 12-member court on 1 October along with Lord Justice Kitchin, with Lord Justice Sales to follow on 11 January 2019.
Lady Hale, the court’s president, said: “I am delighted that the supreme court will be joined by three new justices in the coming months, each of whom has led a distinguished judicial career.
“I congratulate Lady Justice Arden, Lord Justice Kitchin and Lord Justice Sales on their appointments and am confident that they will each make a significant contribution to the work of the court and the development of the law.”
The other female judge on the court is Lady Black.
Arden’s husband, Lord Mance, stepped down from the supreme court this month upon reaching the compulsory retirement age of 75. For a time both sat together on the court of appeal, the first married couple to serve concurrently.
Lord Hughes and Lord Sumption are due to retire in August and December respectively. Judges appointed before 1995 can stay on the bench until the age of 75 and more recent appointments must retire at 70.
There have been calls to raise the mandatory retirement age for all judges to 75 to ease a recruitment crisis in the high court.
Appointments to the supreme court are made by the Queen on the advice of the prime minister and the lord chancellor, following recommendations from an independent selection commission.
Dame Mary Arden read law at Cambridge University and Harvard law school. She has served on the court of appeal since 2000.
Sir David Kitchin studied natural sciences and law at Cambridge. His legal practice specialised in intellectual property rights, and he has been on the court of appeal since 2011.
Sir Philip Sales read law at Cambridge and Oxford and he was appointed to the appeal court in 2014. He was one of the three judges who sat on the initial article 50 appeal and who were condemned by the Daily Mail as “enemies of the people”.