Obituary: Sir James Munby

Sir James Munby, former President of the High Court Family Division, has died aged 77.

In a judicial career spanning over three decades, Sir James presided over historic cases on surrogacy and the rights of children and parents. He was appointed to the High Court in 2000 and served as President of the Family Division from 2013 to 2018. Prior to his presidential term, Sir James acted as Lord Justice of Appeal and chair of the Law Commission and played a central role in establishing the unified Family Court in 2014.

'James Munby was a very substantial individual in the family law world... His presence still resonates on a daily basis as we rely upon his many judgments,' said Sir Andrew McFarlane, current President of the Family Division. 'James cared greatly for the wellbeing of the Family Justice system and for each of us within it. He will be greatly missed by many.'

Sir James presided over high profile surrogacy cases, and called for reform of surrogacy laws. In Re Z (A Child) (No 2), he held that the UK's surrogacy law discriminated against single parents and issued a rare declaration of incompatibility under the Human Rights Act (see BioNews 853). His judgment established that single parents could not be lawfully excluded from obtaining parental orders, setting a precedent for equal treatment in surrogacy law. Sir James further called for comprehensive surrogacy law reform in a piece for BioNews (see BioNews 1010).

Sir James served as President of the Family Division for five years, leaving upon reaching the statutory retirement age of 70. Following retirement, he remained active in academic and legal circles and served as chair of the Board of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory until 2023. Alongside his legal prowess, colleagues and friends of Sir James have praised his life-long commitment to society's most vulnerable.

'Sir James Munby's judicial career was distinguished and marked by moral clarity and compassion for the vulnerable,' said Kirsty Brimelow KC, Chair of the Bar. 'His judgments often were likened to writings of Charles Dickens as he railed against and sought to remedy social injustice. And he did just that, one case at a time.'

Maintaining engagement in legal commentary, Sir James continued to write and speak in support of family law reform. In 2018, as keynote speaker at the PET (Progress Educational Trust) annual conference, Sir James reflected on legal and regulatory lag in reproductive science and changing social conceptions of family. He committed to statutory modernisation, emphasising the inadequacies of current law in recognising increasingly diverse family structures (see BioNews 979 and 983).

'It is doubtful that any modern judge has possessed a historical command of the law to rival his...' retired High Court judge Sir Nicholas Mostyn wrote in an obituary for the Financial Remedies Journal. 'He was a great leader, a brilliant historian, a remarkable lawyer, and a superb writer. Yet, transcending these professional gifts, he was a kind, witty, and deeply compassionate human being.'

Sir James died on 1 January 2026.