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Profiles on justices at the Supreme Court in the UK

Government lawyers are appealing against a High Court decision that that MPs and peers must approve the use of Article 50. 

Unless overturned by the Supreme Court, the ruling could derail plans to start Brexit talks with the EU before the end of March. 

With the appeal hearing now in its second day, here is a look at the judges sitting on the bench at the Supreme Court in Parliament Square in London. 

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  Where is the Supreme Court located? Where is Brexit case being heard?

Supreme Court President: Lord Neuberger

Lord Neuberger has come under fire for his wife’s anti-Brexit tweets in the run up to the EU referendum in June. 

But he has made it clear that the judges must consider points of law, not the wider political questions raised by Brexit.  

David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury, was educated at Westminster School in London and studied chemistry at Oxford University. 

The property law expert worked at a merchant bank before joining the bar and working his way up the legal profession.

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Supreme Court President: Lord Neuberger

Supreme Court Deputy President: Lady Hale 

The only female Supreme Court judge has faced calls to resign after being accused of making pro-EU remarks. 

In an interview about scrapping the Human Rights Act, she allegedly said it would mean the UK would have to leave the EU, adding: “Is that a price worth paying?”

The judge studied law at Cambridge University before lecturing at Manchester University while practising as a barrister and specialising in family and social welfare law. 

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Supreme Court Deputy President: Lady Hale

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Mance 

Lord Mance studied law at Oxford University and practised in Germany before being appointed as a recorder in 1993. 

He has served on the House of Lord’s EU select committee and represented the UK on the Consultative Council of European Judges (CCJE). 

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Sumption

Lord Sumption studied medieval history at Oxford University and worked as a academic before entering the legal profession.

The justice developed a reputation as an impressive QC before being made a Supreme Court justice without having served as a judge. 

In his spare time, he has written acclaimed history books on the Hundreds’ Year War between Britain and France. 

Supreme Court

Top: Wilson, Hughes, Hodge, Reed. Bottom: Sumption, Kerr, Carnwath, Clarke

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Reed

Lord Reed studied law at Edinburgh University and is one of just two Scottish judges that sit in the Supreme Court. 

The judge is an authority on human rights law in Scotland and serves as an ad hoc judge at the European Court of Human Rights. 

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Hodge

The other Scottish justice Lord Hodge went to boarding school in Scotland and Cambridge University.

Before joining the Supreme Court in 2013, he was the Scottish judge in exchequer causes and one of Scotland’s intellectual property judges. 

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Kerr

Lord Kerr studied law at Queen’s University in Belfast and previously served as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. 

He was appointed as a High Court judge in 1993. 

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Clarke 

Lord Clarke specialised in maritime and commercial law at the bar before becoming a recorder in 1985. 

He was appointed as Master of the Rolls in 2005 and became the first justice to be appointed directly to the Supreme Court in 2009.

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Wilson

Lord Wilson studied at Oxford University and practised in the field of family law for 26 years at the start of his career. 

He joined the family division of the High Court in 1993, the Court of Appeal in 2005 and the Supreme Court in 2011. 

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Hughes 

Lord Hughes was called to the bar in 1970 and became a recorder in 1985 before being appointed to the High Court in 1997. 

He later joined the Court of Appeal and took on the role of vice president of its criminal division. 

Supreme Court Justice: Lord Carnwath

Lord Carnwath studied law at Cambridge University before being called to the bar. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2002. 

He previously served as Attorney General to the Prince of Wales, a judge of the Chancery Division and chairman of the Law Commission.