Queen's University School of Law mourns the loss of The Rt Hon. the Lord Carswell, an esteemed legal figure whose contributions to the field have left an indelible mark.

Lord Carswell, a distinguished alumnus of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Pembroke College, Oxford, obtained a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in classics and law in 1956 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 1958. He was called to the Bar in 1957 and took silk in 1971.

He was Counsel to the Attorney General for Northern Ireland in 1969 and again in 1971, followed by a tenure as Senior Crown Counsel in Northern Ireland from 1979 to 1984. He was then appointed Judge of the High Court of Justice Northern Ireland, a position he held until 1992.

Subsequently, Lord Carswell served as Lord Justice of Appeal at the Supreme Court of Judicature in Northern Ireland from 1992 to 1997. He continued to make an impact as the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland from 1997 to 2004.

Lord Carswell became a member of the Privy Council in 1993 and was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, as Baron Carswell of Killeen in the County of Down, on 12 January 2004. He received a knighthood in 1988 and served as a crossbencher in the House of Lords until his retirement on 29 October 2019.

The Queen's University School of Law community feels the loss of Lord Carswell, who significantly impacted the legal sector in our jurisdiction. His legacy will continue to inspire generations of law students.