Geoffrey Vos

Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos (born 22 April 1955) is a judge in England and Wales. Since January 2021, he has held the positions of Master of the Rolls and the Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales.

Early life and education Geoffrey Charles Vos was born on 22 April 1955 to Bernard Vos and Pamela Celeste Rose ( Heilbuth) Vos. He was educated at University College School, London, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge.

Vos was appointed as a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2013. He was President of the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary between 2014 and June 2016. He became Chancellor of the High Court on 24 October 2016.

Master of the Rolls Sir Geoffrey Vos was appointed the Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales on 11 January 2021, succeeding Lord Etherton.

In addition to being President of the Court of Appeal's Civil Division, the Master of the Rolls is chair of both the Civil Justice Council and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. He is chair of the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives and of the Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research. He is also a member of the LawtechUK Panel and chair of its UK Jurisdiction Taskforce.

In March 2021, Sir Geoffrey disclosed that the Civil Justice Council was "looking at the extent to which litigants should be forced to mediate and if so, in what circumstances". He admitted the idea is "highly controversial".

In April 2021, he called for a greater use of digital technology to accelerate the dispute resolution process. In May 2021, he outlined his vision for digital justice reform in more detail, and the need to reform the overall system, rather than focusing only on the judicial decision-making process. Emphasising the need to focus on the whole picture, he said: "We should not allow the tail, however waggy, to wag the huge dispute resolution dog".

On 12 January 2026, Vos announced that he will retire from office on 31 October 2026.

Affiliations Sir Geoffrey was chairman of the Social Mobility Foundation from 2008 to 2011. He was Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn for 2023, was made an honorary bencher of the King's Inn, Dublin in 2021, and is an honorary fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. He was awarded an honorary LLD degree by the University of Hull in January 2023.

He is a member of the Council and Executive of the European Law Institute and of the Steering Group of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts.

Notable decisions Notable judicial decisions of Sir Geoffrey include: – on the duties of a bank where a person acting fraudulently directs the bank to transfer money out of a company's account. Director of the Serious Fraud Office v Eurasian Natural Resources Corp Ltd – on the scope of legal professional privilege. Vodafone Ltd v Office of Communications – on the unjust enrichment of public authorities. R (Officer W80) v Director General of the Independent Office for Police Conduct – on the misconduct of an officer who shot dead a civilian. Stanford International Bank Ltd v HSBC Bank Plc – on losses sustained by a company in liquidation. Broad Idea International Ltd v Convoy Collateral Ltd (dissenting) – on the court's power to grant injunctions. HRH The Duchess of Sussex v Associated Newspapers Ltd – on claims by the Duchess for misuse of private information and copyright infringements. Bell v The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust – on the prescribing of puberty blockers to under-18s with gender dysphoria. Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust – on the availability of damages for psychiatric injury. Barking and Dagenham LBC v Persons Unknown – on the granting of final injunctions against persons who were unknown and unidentified. R (CN) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – a refusal to judicially review the infected blood support scheme for non-inclusion of those with chronic hepatitis B. R (Counsel General for Wales) v Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – on the embargo on publication of draft judgments. Gemalto Holding BV v Infineon Technologies AG – on limitation for cases of discovering deliberately concealed mistakes. Barts Health NHS Trust v Dance – on end-of-life treatment and the best interests of a child, Archie Battersbee. The Executors of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh (Deceased) v Guardian News and Media – on the sealing of the late Duke's will. Belsner v Cam Legal Services Ltd and Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP – on legal costs. AG (A Child) v Barnet LBC – on the relationship between diplomatic immunity and article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. R (Good Law Project) v Prime Minister – on government policy relating to the use of private emails and messaging services when undertaking government business. R (Friends of the Earth) v Secretary of State for International Trade – whether the UK government acted in breach of the Paris Agreement in financing a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique. (dissenting) – on damages for whiplash injuries.

Personal life Sir Geoffrey married Vivien Mary Fieldhouse, in 1984.