| Citation | Citation amended June 2017
David Neuberger is President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. His legal career to the summit of the judiciary is remarkable, and reflects his exceedingly high intellectual standards and analytical abilities. He has made numerous key and defining decisions across the full range of jurisprudence, contributing both to the excellent state of English Law and to its status as the world's choice for commercial law. He is also unique amongst the most senior judges in that his first degree was in Chemistry.
After his first degree and three years at Rothschilds, he trained as a barrister specialising in property law. He rose rapidly to prominence and became a QC at the early age of 39. After some years as counsel and as a part time judge, in 1996 he became a High Court judge in the Chancery division. There he tried mainly cases of a commercial nature, with a particular expertise in patent cases, many concerning pharmaceuticals. In 2004 he became a Lord Justice, a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. He decided numerous important cases, amongst them the admissibility of evidence obtained under torture and major patent cases. In 2007 he became a Lord of Appeal in ordinary and in 2009 Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice for England and Wales. He became President of the Supreme Court in 2012. In all these roles he has given judgements in significant patent cases.
Along with his role as senior Judge, he has given many public lectures and speeches throughout the world, including in Commonwealth countries with legal systems closely related to or linked to the UK. Sometimes these have significant relevance to scientific themes, such as privacy, freedom of information, trademarks, expert witnesses, and uncertainty. He is a member of the board of Mental Health Research UK. Technology has been present in David Neuberger's legal career. For example he was for three years judge in charge of IT for the courts and judiciary of England and Wales.
His early life was amongst excellent science - his father Albert and brother Michael were both FRS; Albert Neuberger's first research student was Fred Sanger. He has always retained an interest in science and is a key supporter of the Royal Society's cooperation with the judiciary. As part of that programme, a series of seminars covering subjects such as memory, probability and mental capacity have occurred, with attendance and contributions by senior judges and FRS. He has written an op-ed in Nature on assembling scientific evidence and consensus, with implications beyond the law for use of science in policy and public understanding. He gave a lecture at the Society in 2015 addressing the connections between science and the law, and is exploring with the Society and leading judges how law formulation can assist scientists and scientific development.
The overlap between science and the law has a long history. Francis Bacon was the first QC (in 1597) and Attorney General as well as founder of the ideas that led to the Royal Society. David Neuberger is the leading UK exponent in this age of that remarkable tradition, and is an important figure in the wider spread of science and the scientific approach into the legal system at the heart of civilization.
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