Lord Robert Carnwath, 71, was educated at Eton, the most prestigious private school in England, and studied law at Cambridge. Between 1988 and 1994, he was legal adviser to the Prince of Wales. It’s hard to find any record of him talking about European or constitutional matters. “Dispassionate and objective appraisal are our watchwords,” he said of British judges.
When the U.K. Supreme Court was created in 2009 (it was previously part of the House of Lords), Carnwath was skeptical it would be an improvement. “I found it difficult to see the point of what seemed to be a very expensive way of doing not very much.” He has since changed his mind, saying the court has brought a new sense of collective responsibility.
During the Brexit trial: He asked “whether really the question we are dealing with is not so much a question of parliamentary sovereignty, which everyone accepts, but whether we as a court can tell Parliament how to exercise that sovereignty?”
Decision: No Parliament vote
What else? A keen musician, he sings in London’s Bach Choir, which has provided the soundtracks to several movies. If you listen carefully enough, you might be able to hear the judge’s vocals on Ridley Scott’s 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven.
The Bellringer
Lord Anthony Hughes, 68, became a barrister in 1970. He’s spent time as a judge in family and criminal courts where, according to Lord Neuberger, “he always looked fresh and relaxed,” in contrast to his stressed and exhausted peers. Hughes studied at Oxford and counts bellringing as a hobby, making him “the first campanologist to reach the Supreme Court,” according to Neuberger. He has not had any public speeches published since the Supreme Court was established in 2009.
During the Brexit trial: He asked about the enormous legal consequences of Brexit. All the rights and laws in safety standards, competition, compensation: What happens to them at the end of the notice period? “Do they simply lapse?” Eadie responded: “They do.”
Decision: No Parliament vote
What else? In 2008 Hughes ruled that filming a man’s naked chest did not amount to voyeurism. Only the chests of females are “private,” he said.