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Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, Lord Sumption, OBE, PC, FSA, FRHistS (born 9 December 1948), is a British author, medieval historian, barrister and former senior judge who sat on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2018 and on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal between 2019 and 2024.

Sumption was sworn in as a Justice of the Supreme Court on 11 January 2012, succeeding Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury.[1] Exceptionally, he was appointed to the Supreme Court directly from the practising bar, without having been a full-time judge. He retired from the Supreme Court on 9 December 2018 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Sumption is well known for his role as a barrister in many legal cases. They include appearances in the Hutton Inquiry on HM Government's behalf,[2] in the Three Rivers case,[3] his representation of former Cabinet Minister Stephen Byers and the Department for Transport in the Railtrack private shareholders' action against the British Government in 2005,[4] for defending HM Government in an appeal hearing brought by Binyam Mohamed,[5] and for successfully defending Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in a private lawsuit brought by Boris Berezovsky.[6]

A former academic, Sumption wrote a substantial narrative history of the Hundred Years' War in five volumes. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2003 New Year Honours[7] and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS) and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA). In 2019, he was appointed a Fellow of the Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet (FWS).[8]

Early life and education

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Jonathan Sumption was born on 9 December 1948. He is the eldest of the four children of Anthony Sumption,[9] a decorated naval officer and barrister, and Hilda Hedigan; their marriage was dissolved in 1979.[10] He was educated at Eton College, where at 15 he was at the bottom of his class.[11] He read Medieval History at Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1967 to 1970, graduating with a first.[11][12][13] He was elected a fellow of Magdalen College, teaching and writing books on medieval history from 1971 to 1975 before leaving to pursue a career in law.[11][13] Called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1975, he then pursued a successful legal practice in commercial law.

In the 1970s, Sumption served as an adviser to the Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister Sir Keith Joseph.[14][15] In 1974, Joseph and Margaret Thatcher together founded the Centre for Policy Studies to act as a think tank for the Conservative Party, and Sumption became one of its earliest employees, working as a speechwriter for Joseph.[16] Sumption and Joseph co-wrote a 1979 book, Equality, seeking to show that "no convincing arguments for an equal society have ever been advanced" and that "no such society has ever been successfully created".[15]

In the late 1970s, Sumption was a regular contributor to The Sunday Telegraph.

[edit]

Sumption joined Brick Court Chambers in 1975, where he remained for the entirety of his commercial legal career as a barrister. He was appointed Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1986 at the relatively young age of 38, and elected a bencher of the Inner Temple in 1991. He has served as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Chancery Division, and a Judge of the Court of Appeal of Jersey[17] and the Guernsey Court of Appeal. In 2005, Sumption became joint head of Brick Court Chambers.[4] He was a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission until his appointment to the Supreme Court.

On 30 November 2007, when a practising barrister, Sumption successfully represented himself before Mr Justice Collins in a judicial review application in the Administrative Court concerning proposed development near his home at Greenwich.[18][19]

Earnings as a barrister

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The Guardian once described him as being a member of the "million-a-year club", the elite group of barristers earning over a million pounds a year.[11][20] In a letter to The Guardian in 2001, he compared his "puny £1.6 million a year" to the vastly larger amounts that comparable individuals in business, sports and entertainment are paid.[20]

For a four-week trial (and all the preparatory work) in the UK in 2005 he charged £800,000 to represent HM Government in the largest class action in the UK, brought by 49,500 private shareholders of the collapsed national railway infrastructure company Railtrack.[21] The Government had money and reputation at stake, the case examining some of the actions of HM Government, especially of former Transport Secretary Stephen Byers. Byers became the only former Cabinet Minister to be cross-examined in the High Court in relation to his actions in modern times: the British Government won the case.

Sumption earned £7.8 million for his defence of Roman Abramovich in the 2012 case Berezovsky v Abramovich. This is believed to be the highest fee ever earned in British legal history.[22]

Judicial career

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On 4 May 2011, Sumption's appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court was announced.[23] Upon his subsequent swearing-in on 11 January 2012,[1] he assumed the judicial courtesy title of Lord Sumption pursuant to a royal warrant (by which all members of the Supreme Court, even if they do not hold a peerage title, are accorded the style of "Lord" for life).[24][25]

Sumption was sworn of the Privy Council on 14 December 2011 in advance of his joining the Court, whose Justices also serve as members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.[26] He retired from the Supreme Court on 9 December 2018.[27]

Sumption is the first lawyer appointed to the Supreme Court without previously serving as a full-time judge since its inception in 2009. There were only five such appointments as Law Lords to the Court's predecessor, the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.[28] Two were Scots lawyers: Lord Macmillan in 1930 and Lord Reid in 1948; the others were Lord Macnaghten (1887), Lord Carson (1921) and Lord Radcliffe (1949).

After his retirement, Sumption sat on the Supplementary Panel of the Supreme Court[29] from 13 December 2018 to 30 January 2021.[30] He voluntarily retired in 2021 because he considered it inappropriate to serve on the panel in view of his public criticisms of the government.[31]

On 13 December 2019, Sumption was appointed as a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.[32] After making his pledge of allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR of the People's Republic of China as part of the judicial oath,[33] Lord Sumption officially commenced his office as a Hong Kong judge on 18 December 2019.[32][34] He had previously appeared as counsel in the Court of Final Appeal in a number of cases.[a] On 6 June 2024, Lord Sumption resigned as a Non-Permanent Judge together with Lord Collins of Mapesbury, citing the political situation.[35]

Historian

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The Hundred Years' War

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Sumption's narrative history of the Hundred Years' War between England and France (of which five volumes have been published, between 1990 and 2023) has been widely praised as "earning a place alongside Steven Runciman's A History of the Crusades" according to Frederic Raphael, and as a work that "deploys an enormous variety of documentary material ... and interprets it with imaginative and intelligent sympathy" and is "elegantly written" (Rosamond McKitterick, Evening Standard); for Allan Massie it is "An enterprise on a truly Victorian scale ... What is most impressive about this work, apart from the author's mastery of his material and his deployment of it, is his political intelligence".[b] Volume I (covering the years from the funeral of Charles IV of France in 1329 to the Surrender of Calais in 1347) was first published in 1990. Volume II (covering the years from 1347 to 1369) was published in 1999. Volume III (covering the years from 1369 to 1399) appeared in 2009. Volume IV (covering the years from 1399 to 1422) appeared in 2015, the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt. Volume V (covering the years from 1422 to 1453) was published in 2023.

Sumption has been praised[by whom?] for a clipped and polished prose style, which he credits to his unwillingness to employ cliché. He admires Edward Gibbon but points out that "if anybody wrote like him today they'd be dismissed as a pompous fart".[36]

Views

[edit]

Sumption has been described as a "conservative neo-liberal and libertarian."[37] In 1974, he worked with Conservative MP Sir Keith Joseph at the Centre for Policy Studies, an economically liberal think-tank. However, he was a Labour supporter at the time and later voted for Tony Blair.[38]

He has said that an attempt to rapidly achieve gender equality in the Supreme Court through quotas or positive discrimination could end up discouraging the best applicants, as they would no longer believe that the process would select on merit, and "have appalling consequences for justice".[39][40] He has criticised the judicial appointments process in the United States, where politicians quiz judicial appointees on their views, as "discreditable" and described former Attorney General for England and Wales Sir Geoffrey Cox's proposal for a similar system as, "one of the most ill-thought-out ideas ever to emerge from a resentful government frustrated by its inability to do whatever it likes".[41]

He has criticised the historical curriculum in English schools as "appallingly narrow", warning that by forcing English schoolchildren to study 1918–1945 in isolation they "are being taught about Germany and Europe during its most aberrant period".[36] He believes that history should not be apologised for once perpetrators of injustices are no longer alive, describing apologies for events such as the Irish Famine and the Armenian genocide as "morally worthless", although saying that, "we have a duty to understand why things happened as they did" and there are "lessons to be learned".[42] In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis, the United States, Sumption criticised the removal of monuments, arguing that people of the past did not share the values of the present and calling it "an irrational and absurd thing to do".[42]

In 2023, the New Statesman named him as the 47th most influential right-wing figure in British politics.[43]

Brexit

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He voted to remain in the European Union in the 2016 referendum, describing the decision to leave as, "a serious mistake that will do lasting damage to our economy"[44] and that, "Britain will be dominated by the European Union whether we belong to it or not".[45] Nevertheless, he believed there were strong arguments for Brexit on the grounds of national sovereignty and identity.[46] He said that leavers, "were not mad. They are not irrational, not naive and have not been deceived".[44] He wrote that, "All of these patronising explanations of their decision seems to me to be mere attempts to evade unpalatable truths."[47]

Judicial review and politics

[edit]

Sumption has written in detail about his concerns regarding the relationship between the judiciary and politics in several lectures and books, most notably his books Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics (2019) and Law in a Time of Crisis (2021). He argues that since the 1960s, but particularly in recent years, the courts have undermined the political processes and institutions of parliament by judging issues that should be decided by elected politicians and ministers. He specifically critiques the expansion of judicial review, saying that, "It has tended to intrude into areas that belong to parliament and ministers answerable to parliament",[48] and has criticised the interpretative powers conferred by the Human Rights Act 1998. He argues that political figures are more democratically accountable to the public for decisions they make, unlike judges who are unelected and difficult to remove from office. He has criticised the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which interprets and adjudicates on the European Convention on Human Rights. He has compared the values of the ECHR and those of the post-war dictatorships of eastern Europe, stating that "they both employ the concept of democracy as a generalised term of approval for a set of political values".[37][49] He describes the text of the convention as "wholly admirable"[50] but argues that the Strasbourg court has interpreted and developed the rights very broadly to go beyond their original meaning and to the extent that the rights cover issues which are properly the remit of elected legislatures. He has criticised the "living instrument" doctrine, particularly regarding Article 8 of the convention, which he describes as, "the most striking example of this kind of mission creep."[51] He has said that if there was no significant change in the approach of the Strasburg court then he would support withdrawing from the convention.[52]

COVID-19 pandemic

[edit]

Sumption has been highly critical of the British government's lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic on civil libertarian grounds, seeing them as a slippery slope,[53][37] while also criticising the legal basis for their enactment and the enforceability of COVID-19 control measures.[54][55][56][57] He has also questioned whether the virus is serious enough to justify restrictive measures, while also arguing that the effects of lockdowns may be worse than the effects of the actual virus, attracting controversy and debate in British media outlets.[58][59][60][54]

On 17 January 2021, Sumption appeared on The Big Questions to discuss the question of whether the lockdown was "punishing too many for the greater good", and said (with reference to the medical concept of quality-adjusted life years) that "I don't accept that all lives are of equal value. My children's and my grandchildren's life is worth much more than mine because they've got a lot more of it ahead". When a cancer patient taking part in the debate said that he was saying that her life was "not valuable", Sumption interrupted her, saying: "I didn't say your life was not valuable, I said it was less valuable."[61] Health experts have criticised his views, stating that the concept of "quality adjusted life years" is primarily useful for debates on the allocation of scarce healthcare resources, and may not be useful for discussion of a nationwide lockdown.[62]

In July 2021, Full Fact concluded in a fact-checking article that Sumption had "made several mistakes with Covid-19 data when talking about the disease" on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. This included incorrect statements that many recorded COVID-19 deaths were people who had the virus but had died of unrelated causes, that people who had died of COVID-19 "would probably have died within a year after" (on average, British COVID-19 victims lost around a decade of life), and that only "hundreds" of people without pre-existing medical conditions in the UK had died of COVID-19 (the true figure, up to the end of March 2021, was 15,883 in England and Wales alone).[63]

Professor of Health and Law John Coggon critiqued Sumption's philosophical and legal arguments against COVID-19 restrictions in the Journal of Medical Ethics; he also contrasted Sumption's libertarian arguments against such restrictions with arguments he himself had made against the right to die when giving his judgment in R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice, when he argued that the moral principle of sanctity of life should be protected in law.[64]

Israel/Palestine

[edit]

In February 2025, Sumption told the Guardian that he thought there was an arguable case that Israel’s conduct in Gaza was genocidal. He also said he was concerned about moves to suppress freedom of speech for supporters of Palestine, particularly in Germany.[65]

In May 2025, Sumption was one of more than 800 signatories to a letter to Keir Starmer saying that the UK should sanction the Israeli government for "war crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law" which they said are being committed in Palestine.[66]

Personal life

[edit]
Sumption’s walled chateau in Berbiguières dominates the village

Sumption married Teresa Whelan and they have two daughters, one son, and five grandchildren. He lives in Greenwich and has a second home, a chateau in the village of Berbiguières in the Dordogne in the south of France which he describes as "hard to miss [...] about the size of the rest of the village combined."[67][11]

Sumption speaks French and Italian fluently, and reads Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Catalan and Latin.[11] He "rarely learned them using guides, instead I preferred to muddle on through a text with a dictionary by my side."[36]

An opera lover, he serves as a director of the English National Opera and as a governor of the Royal Academy of Music.[68]

Full style

[edit]

Notable cases

[edit]

As counsel

[edit]

As judge

[edit]

Two books are dedicated to Sumption's contribution to private and public law, respectively.[69] The following cases are an excerpt of his contribution to the law:

Books

[edit]
  • Pilgrimage: An Image of Medieval Religion. Faber & Faber. 1975. ISBN 0-571-10339-1.; re-issued as The Age of Pilgrimage: The Medieval Journey to God. Paulist Press. 2003. ISBN 1-58768-025-4.
  • The Albigensian Crusade. Faber. 1978. ISBN 0-571-11064-9.
  • Equality. J. Murray. 1979. ISBN 0-7195-3651-0. with Sir Keith Joseph
  • The Hundred Years War I: Trial by Battle. 1990. ISBN 0-571-13895-0.; paperback (1999) ISBN 978-0-571-20095-5
  • The Hundred Years War II: Trial by Fire. 1999. ISBN 0-571-13896-9.; paperback (2001) ISBN 0-571-20737-5
  • The Hundred Years War III: Divided Houses. University of Pennsylvania Press. 2009. ISBN 978-0-571-13897-5.
  • The Hundred Years War IV: Cursed Kings. University of Pennsylvania Press. 2015. ISBN 978-0-571-27454-3.
  • The Hundred Years War V: Triumph and Illusion. Faber & Faber. 2023. ISBN 978-0571274574.
  • Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics. Profile Books Limited. 2019. ISBN 978-1-788-16372-9.
  • Law in a Time of Crisis. Profile Books Limited. 2021. ISBN 9781788167116.
  • The Hundred Years War V: Triumph and Illusion. 2023. ISBN 978-0-571-27457-4.
  • The Challenges of Democracy: And The Rule of Law. 2025. ISBN 978-1-805-22250-7.[86]

References

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Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption

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Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, Lord Sumption OBE PC (born 9 December 1948), is a British jurist, medieval , and author who served as a Justice of the of the from 2012 to 2018. Educated at and , where he earned a first-class in history in 1970, Sumption was called to the Bar by the in 1975, took silk in 1986, and built a distinguished practice in commercial, public, and , appearing in numerous landmark cases before the and European courts. Appointed directly from the Bar to the —the first such appointment since the —he contributed to key judgments on constitutional matters before resigning in 2018 to focus on historical writing. Sumption is best known for his magisterial five-volume history of the , commencing with Trial by Battle (1990) and concluding with Triumph and Illusion (2023), which provides exhaustive analysis of military, political, and social dynamics based on primary sources. His scholarly work, praised for its depth and narrative drive, earned him fellowship in the Royal Historical Society and recognition as a leading authority on medieval European conflict. Beyond academia and the bench, Sumption has critiqued the overreach of judicial power into political spheres, notably in his 2019 , where he argued that expansive interpretations of law, particularly under the European Convention, undermine democratic by substituting judicial for legislative judgment. These views reflect his broader concern with the displacement of politics by law in contemporary governance.

Early Life and Education

Formative Years and Family Background

Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption was born on 9 December 1948, the eldest of four children. His father, James Chadwick Sumption (1919–2008), served as a commander during the Second World War, earning the Distinguished Service Cross and Volunteer Reserve Decoration for his actions. After the war, Anthony pursued a multifaceted career as a solicitor, banker, and , including roles in the financial sector. His mother, Hilda Hedigan, was the daughter of small farmers in Ireland and met Anthony in , where she served in the ; the couple married in 1946, though their union dissolved in 1979. Sumption grew up in St John's Wood, , in a household shaped by his father's transition from to legal and financial professions, which included periods of financial difficulty during his childhood. This environment, marked by Anthony's decisive character honed in wartime submarines and subsequent professional versatility, influenced Sumption's early exposure to discipline and intellectual rigor.

Academic Training and Early Intellectual Development

Sumption was educated at , where, at the age of 15, he experienced a pivotal moment of while standing at a crossroads on school grounds. Previously more inclined toward athletic pursuits, he decided to redirect his efforts toward academic excellence, aiming to rise from the lower ranks of his class through diligent study, marking an early shift toward intellectual rigor. He matriculated at , in 1967 as a Demy, a prestigious scholarship position, and read , specializing in the medieval period—a field he deliberately chose because it was unfamiliar to him, reflecting his pursuit of intellectual challenge. Sumption graduated in 1970 with first-class honours in history. Following graduation, he was elected a by Examination in at Magdalen College, serving from 1971 to 1975 and teaching medieval , which deepened his scholarly engagement and culminated in his first book, Pilgrimage: An Image of Medieval Religion (1975). This early academic phase demonstrated his aptitude for original historical analysis, including linguistic research in Arabic and Hebrew to explore topics like the Spanish crusades, laying the foundation for his later contributions to medieval historiography.

Practice and Reputation

Sumption was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1975 and joined Brick Court Chambers at the end of 1977, initially practising in shipping and insurance law before expanding into broader commercial disputes. His practice encompassed commercial law, public and constitutional law, EU and competition matters, with a growing emphasis on appellate advocacy in complex, high-stakes cases. Appointed Queen's Counsel in 1986, he became a deputy High Court judge in 1992, enhancing his standing in public law circles. By the 1990s, Sumption had established a reputation as one of Britain's preeminent advocates, particularly as the "go-to" for the in its final 15 years as his principal client, alongside representations for entities like the and the Royal Household. Colleagues and opponents alike regarded him as exceptionally brilliant, with a meticulous approach that anticipated counterarguments and delivered devastating cross-examinations, earning descriptions as a "frightening opponent" possessing an "icy analytical instinct" and courtroom presence of "titanic" proportions. His intellectual dominance was such that , whom he defended, likened his mind to having "the size of a planet." Sumption's practice featured landmark public inquiries and constitutional challenges, including advising on the Pinochet extradition proceedings in 1999–2000, representing the government in the into Dr. Kelly's death in 2003—where he successfully defended against claims of dossier manipulation—and defending the Labour government in the 2005 nationalisation . In private commercial litigation, he acted for in the 2011–2012 trial, a protracted dispute over alleged billion-pound share deals originating in 1980s , where his of Boris Berezovsky contributed to a decisive victory for his client. These engagements underscored his versatility and success in blending forensic advocacy with deep historical and legal insight, cementing his status among the bar's elite.

Financial Success and Earnings

Sumption attained substantial financial success as a , establishing himself among the highest earners at the English Bar through his specialization in complex commercial, , and disputes. From the mid-1990s onward, he consistently earned more than £1 million annually, with income occasionally exceeding that threshold substantially due to high-value briefs and retainers. By the early , he belonged to the elite cadre of Queen's Counsel grossing around £2 million per year, reflecting his reputation for handling cases for governments, corporations, and high-profile clients. His earnings were bolstered by selective , including significant time reserved for preparation and advisory work, which allowed premium fees despite periods away from court for historical writing. A landmark example was his representation of in the 2012 trial, where court documents disclosed a total fee of approximately £7.8 million—comprising £5.81 million for trial preparation and advocacy, plus nearly £2 million for service reservation—marking the highest recorded fee for a in British at the time. This case, concluded shortly before his appointment, underscored the lucrative nature of his commercial practice, where daily rates and brief fees commanded top market premiums. Sumption's financial acumen was evident in his career choice; in a 2018 , he cited the need for a secure, high after early as a key motivator for pursuing the Bar over academia. Such earnings placed him in an exclusive group, with reports indicating only a handful of barristers reached £2 million annually by the mid-2000s, driven by rising demand for expertise in cross-border litigation. His success contrasted with average barrister incomes, highlighting the disparity between elite commercial practitioners and the broader profession.

Notable Cases as Counsel

Sumption's practice as a included numerous appearances before the and other appellate courts, where he represented clients in complex commercial, , and constitutional matters. He frequently acted for the government in high-stakes inquiries and litigation, earning a reputation as its preferred Queen's in the final 15 years of his practice. His cases often involved groundbreaking legal principles, such as restitution and privilege in financial collapses. One of Sumption's early landmark appearances was in Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd 2 AC 548, a House of Lords decision that revolutionized the law of . Representing the second defendants ( casino), Sumption argued against the recovery of funds gambled away by a solicitor who had misappropriated client money. At trial, he successfully submitted that there was on behalf of the casino, though the case proceeded on appeal. The Lords ultimately allowed recovery of the traced funds, rejecting absolute defenses like change of position but establishing that innocent third-party recipients could defend claims based on good faith expenditure. This ruling marked a pivotal shift, affirming personal restitutionary claims over proprietary ones in mistaken payments. In , Sumption defended the in the protracted Three Rivers District Council v Bank of England litigation UKHL 48, stemming from the 1991 collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). As counsel for the Bank, he contended against claims by BCCI depositors alleging supervisory failures. His arguments centered on public interest immunity and the scope of legal professional privilege for internal regulatory advice, asserting that broader disclosure would undermine frank policymaking. The sided with the Bank on key privilege issues, limiting discovery of sensitive documents and affirming protections for core policy functions, though the case highlighted tensions in regulatory accountability. This multi-year saga, involving several appeals, underscored Sumption's expertise in defending public institutions amid financial scandals. Sumption represented HM Government in the 2003 into the death of weapons expert Dr. David Kelly, amid controversies over intelligence and media reporting. Delivering the government's closing submissions on 25 September 2003, he defended the naming of Kelly as the source of BBC allegations against the dossier on weapons of mass destruction, arguing it was not a breach of principle given the and Kelly's own media contacts. He challenged claims of a government-inspired smear campaign, emphasizing procedural fairness and the absence of evidence for conspiracy. The inquiry cleared the government of wrongdoing, vindicating Sumption's position, though it fueled broader debates on intelligence handling and press-government relations. His final case as counsel was EWHC 2653 (Comm), a high-value Commercial Court dispute between . Acting for , Sumption rebutted Boris Berezovsky's £4 billion claim for shares in Sibneft and other assets, portraying the transactions as political protection payments rather than enforceable partnerships under Russian law of the 1990s. Mrs Justice Gloster ruled decisively for Abramovich on 31 August 2012, dismissing Berezovsky's credibility and awarding costs. Sumption reportedly earned £7.8 million, believed to be the highest fee for a UK barrister, reflecting the case's complexity and his appellate prowess; he delayed his Supreme Court appointment to complete it.

Judicial Career

Appointment to the Supreme Court

On 4 May 2011, Jonathan Sumption QC was announced as a Justice of the of the , selected to succeed Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, who retired upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. The appointment followed a competitive selection process overseen by an independent commission, as mandated by the , which established the in 2009 and required ad hoc commissions for vacancies comprising the , senior judges, and lay members. Sumption's selection was notable as he was appointed directly from private practice at the Bar, bypassing prior service as a full-time —a rarity not seen since the Supreme Court's inception and the first in over two centuries for the 's apex court. Prior to this, Sumption had served as a Judicial Appointments Commissioner from 2006 to 2011, contributing to the oversight of judicial selections across . His extensive experience as a leading advocate, including appearances in landmark cases before the and , was cited by the selection commission as justifying the exceptional direct appointment, emphasizing his intellectual eminence over conventional judicial tenure. Sumption was sworn in on 11 2012, at which point he was created a as Baron Sumption of Atcham in the County of , enabling his membership in the ex officio as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, though the Supreme Court justices sit independently. The appointment drew commentary on judicial diversity and seniority norms, with some legal observers questioning the precedent of elevating a non-judge amid debates over the bench's composition, though official statements affirmed the process's merit-based rigor.

Key Judicial Decisions and Opinions

Lord Sumption served on the UK Supreme Court from January 2012 to June 2019, during which he authored or joined in numerous judgments across , , and commercial matters, often emphasizing proportionality, , and the limits of judicial intervention. He delivered the highest percentage of lead judgments among justices in the 2015–2016 term, reflecting his influential role in shaping the Court's output. His opinions frequently adopted a pragmatic, context-specific approach, prioritizing empirical considerations over abstract rights expansions, as seen in his handling of (ECHR) applications. In R (on the application of T) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis UKSC 35, Sumption delivered the lead judgment, ruling unanimously that the UK's indefinite retention of DNA profiles and fingerprints from individuals arrested for serious offences but never charged or acquitted constituted a disproportionate interference with Article 8 ECHR rights to privacy. He reasoned that while retention served legitimate crime prevention aims, the blanket policy failed the strict necessity test under human rights law, lacking individualized risk assessments; the Court declared the relevant statutory provisions incompatible with the ECHR but suspended the effect to allow legislative remedy. This decision prompted amendments to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, narrowing retention periods to three years for certain cases with review options. Sumption provided a notable dissenting opinion in R (Privacy International) v Investigatory Powers Tribunal UKSC 22, joined by Lord Reed, upholding the statutory in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 that barred of tribunal decisions except on limited jurisdictional grounds. The majority held the clause ineffective against basic rights challenges, but Sumption argued that Parliament's clear intent to exclude review should prevail absent violations rising to constitutional status, cautioning against judicial overreach into executive functions. His view underscored a restraintist stance, prioritizing legislative supremacy over expansive protections. In Les Laboratoires Servier v Inc UKSC 55, Sumption authored the lead judgment, applying the ex turpi causa doctrine to deny a claim where the claimant's illegal conduct— a drug without regulatory approval—was inextricably linked to the alleged of negligent by the defendant. He clarified that bars recovery not merely for incidental illegality but where upholding the claim would indirectly affirm or profit from the wrongdoer's , rejecting a narrow causation test in favor of a broader reliance-based inquiry. This ruling reinforced the doctrine's role in deterring while distinguishing it from mere regulatory breaches without criminal intent. Sumption also contributed to Belhaj v Straw UKSC 3, concurring in the majority's rejection of foreign act of state immunity for UK officials' alleged in renditions, but emphasized that the decision imposed no liability on non-parties like the government, limiting its extraterritorial impact. His opinion highlighted evidentiary challenges in such claims and the need for clear separation between domestic and foreign state acts. These cases illustrate Sumption's judicial philosophy: a commitment to rigorous, evidence-based analysis over ideological expansions of , often dissenting to defend parliamentary intent against .

Resignation and Post-Judicial Reflections

Sumption retired from the UK Supreme Court on 9 December 2018, upon attaining the age of 70, after serving approximately seven years since his appointment on 10 January 2012. His departure prompted discussions on raising the judicial , with some arguing it deprived the court of experienced talent amid complex caseloads. Following retirement, Sumption joined the Supreme Court's supplementary panel, enabling occasional sittings, but resigned from this role in 2021. He later clarified that his exit was not due to external pressure but aligned with his decision to disengage from certain legal compliance amid evolving circumstances, including pandemic-related measures. In post-judicial writings and speeches, Sumption reflected critically on the judicial role's limitations and its encroachment on democratic processes. In his 2019 , titled "Reclaiming Politics," he contended that the expansion of and law had supplanted political decision-making, creating an "empire of law" that imposed unelected judges' values on society. He argued this trend undermined political accountability, as judges lack democratic legitimacy to resolve inherently political disputes, such as balancing rights against public interests. Sumption emphasized that while law provides structure, politics—flawed yet adaptable—should address societal trade-offs, warning that over-reliance on courts erodes in . Sumption has since described the judicial experience as intellectually rigorous but constraining, particularly for pursuits like historical scholarship, which demand broader temporal perspectives unavailable in case-bound . He maintained that judges must restrain themselves from "anxious scrutiny" of policy-laden issues, lest they exceed their interpretive mandate and venture into . These views, drawn from his bench tenure, underscore his advocacy for clearer separation between legal enforcement and political deliberation.

Historical Scholarship

The Hundred Years' War Series

Jonathan Sumption's The Hundred Years' War constitutes a five-volume narrative history of the Anglo-French conflict spanning 1337 to 1453, initiated with the first volume published in 1990 and completed in 2023 after over three decades of research and writing. The series traces the war's origins in dynastic disputes over the French throne, escalating military campaigns, intermittent truces, and the interplay of domestic politics, economic strains, and leadership failures in both England and France. Sumption draws on an extensive array of primary sources, including chronicles, diplomatic records, and financial accounts, to reconstruct events with granular detail on battles, sieges, and negotiations. The inaugural volume, Trial by Battle (1990), examines the prelude from the late 1320s through the early victories of Edward III, culminating in the siege of Calais in 1347; it allocates significant space to the political contexts in and , assessing relative resources and key figures like Philip VI and Edward III. Volume two, Trial by Fire (1999), covers the period from 1347 to 1369, detailing the Black Death's disruptions, the (1360), and the resurgence of French resistance under Charles V. Divided Houses (2009), the third installment, addresses 1369 to 1399, focusing on internal divisions in both kingdoms, the campaigns of Henry V's predecessors, and the fragile peace under Richard II and Charles VI. Volume four, Cursed Kings (2015), spans 1399 to 1422, analyzing the Lancastrian usurpation, Henry V's conquests including Agincourt (1415) and the (1420), and the mental instability of Charles VI. The concluding Triumph and Illusion (2023) narrates the war's final phase from 1422 to 1453, chronicling the English collapse after Henry V's death, Joan of Arc's intervention (1429), and the ultimate French recovery under Charles VII, attributing outcomes to strategic miscalculations and overextended English ambitions. Across approximately 4,000 pages, the series emphasizes contingency in historical causation, portraying the war not as inevitable but as shaped by individual decisions and unforeseen events.

Methodological Approach and Reception

Sumption adopts a methodology in his Hundred Years' War series, emphasizing chronological reconstruction of political, military, and diplomatic events to convey the "how" and "when" of historical developments, rather than deep analytical probing of underlying causes or broader social dynamics. This approach, which he acknowledges has waned in academic favor amid a shift toward thematic and interdisciplinary studies, prioritizes a coherent, story-like flow accessible to specialists and lay readers alike, drawing on multilingual sources in English, French, Catalan, German, , and beyond for evidentiary support. He balances perspectives by integrating the actions of elites—kings, nobles, and commanders—with those of humbler participants like soldiers, while weaving in economic and logistical factors without reductive , all rendered in measured, literary prose enriched by anecdotes and precise detail on personalities and locales. Documentation is frugal, favoring momentum over copious footnotes, yet underpinned by impeccable bibliographies, maps, and indexing that reflect rigorous archival engagement. The works have garnered acclaim as a monumental achievement, praised for scholarly depth, readability, and epic scope that avoids tedium despite vast detail, establishing Sumption as a master of traditional . Critics, however, highlight an Anglo-centric lens, traditionalism over innovative theses, and relative neglect of cultural, spiritual, or socioeconomic layers—such as peasant roles or influences—along with occasional outdated analyses, limiting appeal beyond political-military enthusiasts.

Writings on Law, Democracy, and Politics

Books and Monographs

Sumption's first major monograph on contemporary legal and political issues, Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics, was published in 2019 by Profile Books. Drawing from his BBC Reith Lectures delivered that year, the book critiques the expansion of judicial power into domains traditionally reserved for elected politicians, arguing that courts' increasing role in resolving complex policy disputes undermines democratic accountability and political compromise. Sumption contends that while judicial review protects fundamental rights, its overextension risks substituting unelected judges' preferences for legislative deliberation, a concern rooted in historical precedents like the U.S. Supreme Court's Lochner era. In 2021, he released Law in a Time of Crisis, also with , compiling essays and speeches spanning over a decade on the tensions between law and political authority. The work addresses judicial interventions in Brexit-related disputes and critiques emergency powers during the , asserting that temporary suspensions of , such as lockdowns justified under pretexts, often erode rule-of-law principles without sufficient legislative oversight. Sumption emphasizes that crises do not justify indefinite judicial deference to executive actions, drawing on examples like the U.K. government's use of clauses to bypass . His most recent monograph, The Challenges of Democracy: And the Rule of Law, appeared in February 2025 from Profile Books. It examines threats to , including international law's vulnerabilities—such as inconsistent enforcement against authoritarian regimes—and cultural pressures eroding free speech, exemplified by cases like Hong Kong's democratic suppression post-2019 handover assurances. Sumption argues for reinforcing institutional checks, like robust , to counter and elite overreach, while warning that global bodies like the impose homogenized norms detached from national democratic mandates.

Lectures, Essays, and Speeches

Sumption delivered the prestigious BBC Reith Lectures in 2019, broadcast on Radio 4 under the title Law and the Decline of Politics. The series comprised five lectures examining the encroachment of legal processes into domains traditionally reserved for political judgment: "Law’s Expanding Empire" on 21 May, which contended that judicial and human rights mechanisms have supplanted democratic compromise; "In Praise of Politics" on 28 May, defending politics as essential for reconciling conflicting interests; "Human Rights and Wrongs" on 4 June, questioning the moral absolutism of modern human rights frameworks; "Lessons from America" on 11 June, analyzing constitutional rigidities in the U.S.; and "Constitutions, New and Old" on 18 June, advocating flexible, unwritten constitutions over codified ones for adapting to societal change. These lectures drew on Sumption's judicial experience to argue that excessive legalism undermines political legitimacy and public acceptance of state authority. Post-retirement, Sumption has given numerous speeches critiquing constitutional strains in contemporary crises. In the 2020 Freshfields Annual Law Lecture, titled "Government by Decree: and the ," delivered on 27 , he argued that the UK's pandemic response relied excessively on executive decrees, sidelining and fostering a "constitutional monstrosity" that normalized rule by temporary edict over deliberative law-making. He extended similar concerns in a 2020 address on " and the in the Age of ," warning that fear-driven policies had eroded the balance between security and , with governments invoking emergency powers to impose measures lacking democratic endorsement. Sumption's orations have also addressed broader threats to democratic norms. In a February 2025 speech, "The Enemies of Democracy," he highlighted internal pressures like judicial overreach, populist distrust, and cultural intolerance as greater perils to liberal order than external forces. Earlier, his 2018 valedictory remarks upon leaving the reflected on amid , emphasizing the need for courts to avoid supplanting elected branches. In December 2024, he delivered "What is Conservatism? A Historical Perspective," tracing conservative thought through empirical historical lenses rather than ideological abstraction, cautioning against ahistorical reinterpretations of tradition. These interventions, often at academic or legal forums, underscore his view that rule-of-law principles demand resistance to arbitrary power, even if it entails civil non-compliance with unjust edicts. While Sumption's essays are fewer and often historical in focus—such as his 1981 London Review of Books piece "Outremer" on Crusader state-building—his public intellectual output prioritizes spoken addresses to engage live debate on legal-political tensions. Many such lectures have informed later compilations, but their original delivery highlighted real-time responses to events like Brexit's sovereignty debates and pandemic governance.

Judicial Review and Separation of Powers

Lord Sumption has articulated a robust defense of the traditional , emphasizing that must remain confined to legal interpretation and enforcement rather than policy-making or balancing competing societal interests. In a 2011 lecture delivered at the , he argued that the judiciary's role is inherently limited by its retrospective focus on resolving disputes based on existing law, warning that expansive interpretations—such as the ' "living instrument" —amount to judicial legislation that undermines . He contended that courts lack the democratic accountability and institutional capacity to make forward-looking choices, such as weighing individual rights against or , which are properly the domain of elected legislatures. Sumption's critique intensified in his examination of post-1998 Human Rights Act developments, where he highlighted how declarations of incompatibility, though non-binding, exert undue political pressure on , effectively shifting constitutional authority toward unelected judges. In the case of A v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2004), he later reflected that the ' ruling against of foreign terror suspects exemplified judicial overreach by disregarding statutory safeguards and executive concessions, describing it as a decision that prioritized abstract rights over practical governance needs without sufficient regard for legislative intent. He maintained that such interventions erode the mutual respect between branches, as judges presume superior moral insight into balances that , answerable to voters, is designed to strike—citing historical precedents like the Case of Proclamations (1610) to underscore that executive and legislative powers have long operated without judicial veto absent explicit statutory breach. Central to Sumption's position is the principle that constitutional adjudication should not supplant politics; in his 2019 BBC , compiled as Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics, he asserted that the "expansion of " has created a "legal monopoly" on resolving fundamental disputes, displacing compromise and accountability inherent in democratic processes. He specifically critiqued 's proportionality test for enabling courts to second-guess executive decisions on issues like or , as seen in Strasbourg rulings such as Hirsi Jamaa v Italy (2011), which he viewed as imposing policy outcomes detached from national contexts. Sumption warned that this trend fosters "judicial supremacism," where courts, lacking electoral mandates, resolve intractable political questions—such as in R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice (2014)—risking public disillusionment with both and . Despite his service on the until 2018, Sumption's post-judicial writings reinforce that true demands judicial self-restraint to prevent the constitution from becoming a judicial artifact rather than a political compact. He has advocated returning contentious balances to , arguing that only through legislative debate can laws reflect diverse societal values without the "roving commissions" courts risk becoming. This stance aligns with his broader view that the UK's unwritten constitution thrives on institutional , not rigid judicial enforcement, and that overreliance on courts for constitutional protection invites backlash against the rule of law itself.

Brexit and Parliamentary Sovereignty

In the landmark Supreme Court case R (on the application of Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union ( UKSC 5), decided on 24 January 2017, Lord Sumption joined the eight-justice majority in ruling that the government could not invoke Article 50 of the using powers alone, as doing so would alter domestic law and remove rights conferred by membership without parliamentary authorization. The judgment underscored the principle of , holding that only Parliament could effect such changes, since EU law had been incorporated into the 's legal order through the European Communities Act 1972, making withdrawal a matter for legislative approval rather than executive discretion. Dissenting justices, including Lords Reed and Hughes, argued the case involved foreign affairs prerogatives immune from , but the majority prioritized sovereignty by requiring an , such as the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017, to trigger negotiations. Sumption's reasoning aligned with the view that EU membership had imposed limits on sovereignty by mandating precedence for EU law over conflicting domestic provisions, as he elaborated in the contemporaneous Benkharbouche v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs ( UKSC 62), where he stated that "in the event of a conflict between EU and domestic law, precedence must be given to the former, and so the latter must be disapplied." Post-Brexit, with the United Kingdom's withdrawal formalized on 31 January 2020 via the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, Sumption contended that sovereignty was restored, freeing Parliament from supranational constraints and returning full legislative autonomy. He described EU membership's primary constitutional impact as restricting sovereignty and urged its reclamation post-Brexit, cautioning however that this should not enable unchecked executive or populist overreach that undermines parliamentary accountability. In public commentary, Sumption criticized executive maneuvers during the Brexit process, such as the proposed prorogation of Parliament in 2019, as unconstitutional threats to sovereignty that bypassed legislative scrutiny. He praised parliamentary innovations under Speaker John Bercow and the application of sovereignty principles to counter government attempts to sideline MPs, affirming Parliament's ability to adapt its own rules to defend its primacy. Reflecting in early 2020 on Brexit's aftermath, Sumption advocated a comprehensive constitutional review, including electoral reform and clarification of the monarch's role, to bolster democratic resilience alongside restored sovereignty, warning that unresolved tensions could erode public trust in institutions. Despite his initial skepticism as a Remainer, he accepted Brexit's democratic legitimacy in restoring sovereignty, though he expressed concerns over lingering EU economic dominance.

Government Overreach During COVID-19

Lord Sumption emerged as a vocal critic of the United Kingdom's response, particularly the imposition of and associated enforcement measures, which he viewed as excessive executive overreach infringing on fundamental . In a interview on 30 March 2020, shortly after the nationwide lockdown began on 23 March, Sumption condemned police actions such as Police's use of drones to monitor and film walkers in the , describing it as "disgraceful" and a practice that "shamed our policing tradition." He argued that such tactics exemplified emerging , stating, "This is what a is like," and emphasized that police lacked legal authority to enforce ministerial preferences beyond statutory limits under the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020. Sumption attributed public acquiescence to "collective " fueled by fear of the virus, which he likened to historical panics where rationality yielded to emotion, leading to disproportionate sacrifices of liberty for uncertain gains in security. He contended that the government's reliance on regulations under the (Control of Disease) Act 1984 bypassed adequate parliamentary oversight, enabling ministers to issue decrees with minimal debate, a process he later termed "government by decree." In this framework, Sumption highlighted the absence of a formal declaration under the , which would have imposed stricter safeguards, yet the executive wielded broad coercive powers affecting over 66 million people for extended periods. By October 2020, in his Cambridge Freshfields Lecture titled "Government by Decree: COVID-19 and the Constitution" delivered on 27 October, Sumption escalated his critique, predicting that the measures would be retrospectively regarded as a "monument of collective hysteria and governmental folly" due to their cavalier deployment of coercive state powers and erosion of personal freedoms. He specifically decried the psychological manipulation involved, asserting in a subsequent interview that "fear has been skilfully and deliberately" exploited by the government to secure compliance, transforming temporary restrictions into normalized controls without sufficient evidence of net benefit. Sumption pointed to empirical trade-offs, including over 100,000 excess non-COVID deaths linked to delayed care and mental health declines by mid-2021, alongside economic costs exceeding £370 billion in fiscal support, arguing these outweighed marginal reductions in mortality for most demographics. In his 2021 book Law in a Time of , Sumption systematized these concerns, warning that the response exemplified how crises enable the normalization of illiberal precedents, with lockdowns depriving individuals of "what makes life worth living" through isolation, educational disruption affecting 9 million schoolchildren, and livelihood destruction for millions in small businesses. He advocated for proportionality assessments rooted in legal tradition, rejecting blanket restrictions in favor of targeted protections, and criticized the failure to adhere to pre-existing plans like the 2011 UK Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan, which emphasized voluntary measures over compulsion. Sumption's position drew from first-principles evaluation of costs—such as a 2020 report showing COVID-19's infection fatality rate below 0.1% for under-40s—against indefinite curtailments, maintaining that democratic , not fear-driven , should govern such decisions.

Free Speech, Censorship, and Cultural Pressures

Lord Sumption has argued that the greatest threat to free speech in contemporary liberal democracies arises not from state-imposed censorship but from pervasive social pressures exerted by public opinion and cultural norms. In a speech delivered at Christchurch Town Hall for the New Zealand Free Speech Union in early November 2023, he contended that "the real enemy of free speech is not the state. It is the pressure of opinion from our fellow-citizens," echoing John Stuart Mill's 19th-century warning of a "social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression." Sumption emphasized that platforms like social media amplify the voices of intolerant minorities, leading to widespread self-censorship among individuals and institutions fearful of backlash. For instance, he cited polling data indicating majority support for the view that biological sex is immutable, yet gender-critical speakers face professional repercussions, such as job losses or public shaming, due to minority-driven outrage. This dynamic fosters a of , where subjective perceptions of harm—codified in laws like the UK's hate crime provisions, which rely on victims' feelings rather than objective standards—erode the tolerance for essential to discovering truth. Sumption warned that declining , coupled with economic frustrations among younger generations (as evidenced by Pew Research showing reduced support for in Western nations), promotes collective orthodoxy over open debate, influenced by postmodern thinkers who prioritize power dynamics over rational discourse. He illustrated institutional self-censorship with data from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, revealing that 29% of U.S. professors avoided controversial topics between 2000 and 2022, with 16% facing formal discipline. Sumption has specifically critiqued cancel culture as a manifestation of these pressures, describing it in his 2021 collection Law in a Time of Crisis and subsequent talks as selectively punitive and antithetical to reasoned disagreement. During a November 2022 conversation at the Centre for Independent Studies, he condemned the toppling of statues like that of Edward Colston in 2020, arguing it exemplifies one-sided historical revisionism that ignores philanthropists' broader contributions while fixating on moral failings by modern standards. In a February 2025 New Statesman interview, he defended the principle of permitting speech deemed "foolish, hurtful or untrue" and lambasted efforts to "decolonise" curricula as "a deadly combination of dogmatic intolerance and sanctimonious philistinism," bypassing democratic processes in favor of enforced consensus. Sumption maintains that such tactics undermine civil liberties by punishing nonconformity on issues like abortion or historical commemoration, advocating instead for a tolerant society where error is aired rather than suppressed.

Rule of Law in International Contexts

Lord Sumption has critiqued the expansion of as a threat to the by enabling unelected judges to impose policy choices on sovereign states, thereby bypassing democratic accountability. In his third Reith Lecture, "Human Rights and Wrongs," broadcast on June 4, 2019, he argued that treaties like the (ECHR), originally designed post-World War II to prevent authoritarian abuse, have evolved through judicial interpretation into instruments that enforce "abstract and timeless" rights lacking popular mandate or historical grounding in traditions. This dynamic, he contended, positions international courts as arbiters of political disputes, exemplified by the (ECtHR) rulings on issues such as prisoner enfranchisement (Hirst v United Kingdom (No 2), 2005) and restrictions on deporting foreign offenders, where the court nullified parliamentary decisions without equivalent democratic legitimacy. Sumption maintains that such interventions erode the domestically because they prioritize judicial fiat over legislative compromise, which better reflects societal trade-offs and consent. He has advocated for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the ECHR, stating in a September 2023 article that the court's "arrogant" refusal to adapt or defer to national authorities renders reform futile, and that Britain's unwritten constitution and provide robust protections against rights abuses without supranational oversight. This position aligns with his broader view that international legal frameworks succeed only when they reinforce, rather than supplant, sovereign governance; otherwise, they foster resentment and non-compliance, as seen in repeated UK defeats before the ECtHR (over 500 judgments against the state since 1975, per court statistics). In global contexts beyond , Sumption highlights the fragility of international law's rule-of-law aspirations amid power imbalances and weak enforcement. His 2024 book, The Challenges of Democracy: And The Rule of Law, analyzes how China's 2020 imposition of national security laws in breached the (1984), an international treaty guaranteeing the territory's autonomy until 2047, yet elicited minimal consequences due to the absence of coercive mechanisms beyond diplomatic pressure. He argues this case illustrates international law's dependence on state goodwill and reciprocity, warning that overambitious universalism—such as expansive human rights adjudication—invites selective adherence by powerful actors, ultimately undermining global rule-of-law norms. Sumption's perspective underscores a first-principles emphasis on legitimacy: international institutions must derive authority from democratic states rather than abstract ideals, lest they provoke backlash that weakens both domestic and transnational legal orders. In a April 2025 discussion on global democratic strains, he reiterated that rule of law thrives under accountable power, critiquing supranational bodies for lacking the electoral checks that constrain national excesses. While acknowledging international law's role in restraining tyranny, he cautions against its politicization, as in ECtHR expansions, which he sees as diverting "political issues from the sphere of politics to the sphere of law," per a 2023 interview.

Israel-Palestine Conflict and Recent Statements

In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,195 people, Lord Sumption condemned the terrorist organization's actions while scrutinizing Israel's military response in Gaza under . He acknowledged Israel's right to but argued that its operations, such as "Gideon’s Chariots," resulted in disproportionate civilian harm, with over 57,645 Palestinian deaths reported, approximately 70% of whom were women and children, exceeding what the laws of war permit relative to anticipated military advantage. In a July 16, 2025, essay for the New Statesman titled "A question of intent," Sumption contended there is "a strong case that Israel is guilty of war crimes," citing violations of the through indiscriminate attacks on hospitals, schools, and residential areas, as well as the destruction of 90% of Gaza's housing stock not justified by . He highlighted 's blockade as a deliberate policy of starvation, with Israeli National Security Minister stating no would enter until surrendered, leading to conditions and the deaths of over 224 aid workers. Sumption noted 's tactic of embedding among civilians complicates targeting but does not excuse , and he questioned whether 's intent extended to under the 1948 , pointing to ministerial statements like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for Gaza to be "entirely destroyed" as evidence of a policy to displace population through killing, bombing, and deprivation. Sumption elaborated on the genocide threshold in subsequent commentary, stating in a February 2025 Guardian interview that Israel's conduct presented "at least an arguable case" of , as affirmed by the of Justice's provisional measures, while reiterating its "grossly disproportionate" nature. In his 2025 book The Challenges of Democracy: And The , he linked this to broader concerns over suppression of pro-Palestinian expression in , including restrictions on demonstrations in the UK and , arguing that "supporters of the Palestinian cause have had a rough time" amid heightened scrutiny. By June 2025, in a BBC analysis, he emphasized that hinges on intent, interpreting statements from Prime Minister and ministers as aimed at forcing Gaza's to flee through killing and , and urged to heed its historical experience of to avoid mirroring such atrocities. In a September 22, 2025, follow-up, Sumption argued the case for had strengthened, bolstered by a UN Commission of Inquiry report finding evidence of Israeli intent to destroy in Gaza, including direct statements from leaders like President deeming the "entire nation responsible" and military officials deeming 50,000 deaths "necessary." He cited patterns of civilian-targeted operations, such as attacks on fertility clinics and aid hubs resulting in nearly 800 deaths, as exceeding anti-Hamas objectives and aligning with genocidal elements under the Convention. Earlier, in October 2023, amid debates on pro- marches, Sumption defended their , stating it was "not illegal at all" to demonstrate in favor of absent to .

Controversies and Criticisms

Responses to Lockdown Policies

Lord Sumption became one of the most prominent critics of the United Kingdom's policies, arguing from early 2020 that they represented an unprecedented and disproportionate erosion of disproportionate to the threat posed by the virus. In a March 26, 2020, article, he contended that the government's "Protect the NHS" slogan shifted responsibility for personal risk management to the state, asserting that individuals were capable of assessing and mitigating dangers without blanket coercion. He maintained that inflicted greater overall harm—encompassing economic devastation, deterioration, and educational disruption—than the virus itself, which he viewed as manageable through targeted protections for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with respiratory conditions, rather than indiscriminate restrictions on the entire populace. In his October 27, 2020, Freshfields Lecture titled "Government by : Covid-19 and the Constitution," Sumption described the emergency measures as "the most significant interference with personal freedom in the of our country," predicting that posterity would regard them as "a of collective hysteria and governmental folly." He accused the government of deliberately stoking public fear to justify coercive powers under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, which he argued were never intended for such drastic applications, and highlighted a corresponding decline in parliamentary oversight, with regulations often enacted by ministerial rather than legislative debate. Sumption further criticized police enforcement as veering into " tactics," citing examples like the Police's use of drones to shame non-compliant citizens, which exceeded statutory authority. Sumption's ethical framework prioritized individual liberty over , rejecting the notion of equal sanctity for all lives in policy terms and advocating voluntary measures akin to Sweden's approach, which avoided strict lockdowns and achieved comparable outcomes in mortality relative to without the same societal costs. He later elaborated in compiled writings, including his 2021 book Law in a Time of , that the policies exemplified overreach by sidelining broader and social considerations in favor of epidemiological models, effectively "throwing out the window" and depriving citizens of "what makes life worth living." In July 2020, he admitted personally disregarding regulations once they "reached levels of absurdity," underscoring his view that blind obedience to arbitrary rules undermined the . Sumption's critiques extended to formal inquiries; he provided a written submission to the Scottish Inquiry in 2023, reiterating concerns over the legal basis and proportionality of restrictions. While his positions drew accusations of downplaying risks—such as a 2021 BBC Today programme appearance where he misstated certain infection fatality data—Sumption consistently grounded his opposition in first-hand analysis of legal precedents and empirical trade-offs, warning that the precedent of fear-driven could recur in future crises.

Accusations of Judicial Bias and Overreach

Lord Sumption's 2012 speech "Home Truths about Judicial Diversity," delivered to the Bar Council, argued that the underrepresentation of women and ethnic minorities in the UK judiciary stemmed primarily from individual choices, pipeline issues, and a merit-based selection process rather than systemic discrimination or bias in appointments. Critics, including media outlets, contended that this analysis overlooked entrenched biases within the legal profession, with The Guardian portraying Sumption's remarks as dismissive of diversity challenges and potentially reflective of an elite, unexamined perspective. In 2015, Charlotte Proudman, amid her public dispute over perceived in the legal field, accused Sumption of attempting to undermine her professional standing through indirect criticism, framing his prior comments on gender dynamics in the as part of a broader pattern of male judicial figures resisting scrutiny on equality issues. Such responses attributed to Sumption an implicit favoring traditional meritocratic narratives over structural reforms, though Sumption maintained that mandating diversity risked compromising judicial competence. Sumption's direct appointment to the UK Supreme Court in 2011, bypassing full-time experience in lower courts, drew commentary questioning whether it could foster partiality due to insufficient exposure to routine judicial and its constraints. Legal observers noted this unconventional path might amplify personal predispositions in high-stakes constitutional matters, as evidenced by his involvement in the 2017 R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the case, where the majority ruling on parliamentary approval for triggering Article 50 faced broader accusations of judicial intrusion into political territory—though specific claims against Sumption emphasized his background potentially skewing interpretive restraint. As a non-permanent judge on 's Court of Final Appeal from 2018 to 2022, Sumption resigned in June 2022, citing erosion of under the National Security Law and perceived partiality toward government interests in politically sensitive trials, such as that of . The Hong Kong government rebutted these assertions, describing Sumption's views as "biased" and politically motivated, insisting that local courts remained impartial and that his critiques misrepresented legal processes as tools of executive overreach. In October 2024, following Sumption's testimony on the Lai case, authorities reiterated disagreement with his "biased views" on the , framing his departure and statements as an overstep by a foreign lacking full contextual understanding. These exchanges highlighted tensions over Sumption's role in international judicial oversight, with detractors alleging his interventions reflected anti-government prejudice rather than objective analysis.

Engagements with Global Issues and Backlash

Lord Sumption has engaged with global issues through public statements, writings, and actions critiquing applications of in politically charged contexts. In June 2024, he resigned from 's Court of Final Appeal, citing the territory's national security law as severely limiting judicial freedom and compromising the in areas where the government holds strong views, such as pro-democracy activism. He described as "slowly becoming a totalitarian state" under Beijing's influence, where judges face political pressure to align with authorities. This followed a convicting 14 pro-democracy figures of , which he viewed as emblematic of eroded . His resignation drew immediate rebuttal from Hong Kong authorities, who labeled his assessment biased and reaffirmed the courts' independence under the , dismissing foreign critiques as interference in internal affairs. Sumption's comments amplified international concerns over 's post-2019 protests trajectory, prompting further resignations by overseas judges like Lord Collins and , but also fueled defenses from Beijing-aligned voices portraying such exits as politically motivated. On the Israel-Palestine conflict, Sumption has argued that Israel's military operations in Gaza since October 2023 constitute war crimes due to their disproportionate nature and blockade of , violating despite Israel's right to . In February 2025, he contended there is "at least an arguable case" for , pointing to statements by Israeli officials and the scale of civilian casualties exceeding 40,000 by mid-2025, while emphasizing intent as key under the . He co-signed an in April 2024, joined by three other former Supreme Court justices, urging the government to halt arms sales to to avoid complicity in potential breaches of , including the . These positions elicited pushback from pro-Israel groups and legal commentators. UK Lawyers for Israel critiqued the April 2024 letter as legally flawed and selective, ignoring Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis; Sumption and co-signatories rebutted, defending their analysis as grounded in evidenced intent and proportionality failures. Critics, including legal scholars, have questioned Sumption's genocide threshold application, arguing it overlooks Hamas's use of human shields and Israel's targeting of militants, though he maintained no ideological bias in assessments drawn from historical precedents like Allied bombings in . His essays in outlets like the further highlighted suppression of pro-Palestinian speech in the West, framing it as inconsistent with free expression principles, which drew accusations of downplaying risks amid rising incidents post-October 2023. Sumption's broader skepticism toward expansive international judicial roles, expressed in lectures like "International Tribunals: For and Against" in 2023, underscores his view that bodies like the ICC risk overreach into political domains better resolved by states, though he has not directly targeted specific ICC actions in recent global conflicts. These engagements reflect his first-hand experience with international law's tensions but have positioned him amid polarized debates, where his critiques of state conduct invite counter-claims of imbalance from affected parties.

Personal Life and Legacy

Family and Private Interests

Sumption has been married to Sumption (née Whelan), his , since 1971. The couple has three children—a son and two daughters, one of whom is migration researcher —and several grandchildren. In his private life, Sumption maintains a second home at the 12th-century Château de Berbiguières in the region of , which he acquired in 1977 and where he has resided part-time while pursuing historical research, particularly on the . He resides primarily in a large house in Greenwich, . Sumption's interests include and ; he served on the board of the from 2014 until resigning in June 2023, citing opposition to Arts Council England's directive to relocate the company from as "philistine" cultural policy. His enthusiasm for music was featured in a May 2025 BBC Radio 3 Private Passions episode, where he discussed works that reflect his intellectual and aesthetic preferences.

Honours, Styles, and Public Persona

Jonathan Sumption was appointed an Officer of the (OBE) in the 2003 for services to Anglo-French cultural relations. He was sworn of the in December 2011, granting him the PC. Sumption holds fellowships including Fellow of the (FSA) and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). In 2024, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws from the and was elected an Honorary Fellow of . As a created upon his appointment as a Justice of the in 2012, Sumption is styled "The Lord Sumption" in formal contexts, though commonly addressed as "Lord Sumption." In judicial and parliamentary settings, he is referred to with the "Lord" and the "My Lord" in direct address. Sumption's public persona is that of an intellectual , blending formidable legal acumen with scholarly depth in medieval history. Described as embodying the British establishment through his Eton and education, barristerial success, and judicial tenure, he has earned a reputation for intellectual rigor that intimidated opponents at the bar. His post-retirement lectures and writings, critiquing state overreach and defending , have positioned him as a principled voice against perceived erosions of constitutional norms, while his multi-volume history of the underscores his erudition.

Overall Impact and Scholarly Reputation

Lord Sumption's scholarly output as a medieval historian has profoundly shaped understandings of the , with his five-volume series—commencing with Trial by Battle in 1990 and concluding with the fifth volume in 2023—providing a detailed, narrative-driven synthesis that incorporates archival evidence and codifies key interpretations from prior generations of scholarship. The work's precision, combined with its clarity and avoidance of overly specialized , has broadened its influence beyond academia, appealing to general readers while maintaining historiographical standards through exhaustive sourcing and contextual analysis. This practitioner-led scholarship, produced alongside a demanding legal career, demonstrates Sumption's capacity to integrate empirical historical method with synthetic insight, earning acclaim as a triumphant, comprehensive account of English involvement in the conflict. In jurisprudence, Sumption's impact stems from his advocacy for judicial restraint, informed by historical analogies that highlight the risks of law encroaching on political domains, as articulated in judgments during his Supreme Court tenure from 2012 to 2018 and in post-retirement analyses of agency law and constitutional limits. His 2019 BBC Reith Lectures, expanded into Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics, contended that intensified judicial review undermines democratic legitimacy by substituting unelected adjudication for legislative compromise, a thesis that has prompted extensive scholarly responses examining its coherence with human rights frameworks and separation of powers principles. Follow-up publications, such as Law in a Time of Crisis (2021), which compiles essays on legal responses to emergencies, have reinforced his critique of overreliance on courts for policy resolution, influencing debates on the rule of law amid state expansions during events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Sumption's dual reputation as a formidable intellect—once described as terrorizing adversaries as Queen's Counsel and embodying establishment erudition—extends to academic recognition, including delivery of the 2022 John M. Kelly Lecture on and election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2025. While some critiques, such as those from advocates, argue his emphasis on political primacy undervalues judicial safeguards against majoritarian excess, his corpus consistently prioritizes evidence-based reasoning over ideological priors, cementing his stature as a catalyst for rigorous, first-principles scrutiny of institutional boundaries.

References

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  5. https://www.pennpress.org/9781512826760/the-hundred-years-war-volume-5/
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