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Professor Oliver Quick gave the oration in Professor Mostyn’s honour at last week’s graduation ceremonies:
“Pro Vice Chancellor, the concept of Judicial Independence is fundamental to the Rule of Law. Few judges have been as independent as Sir Nicholas Mostyn. According to the current President of the Family Division, he has made an unprecedented contribution to developing the law and practice of divorce and financial provision.
"Creating and leading the Financial Remedy Court – where finances are resolved fairly – is a lasting legacy to Family Law and Justice. As are his published judgments (all 321 of them) showcasing his skills as a lawyer, linguist, historian and mathematician – but also his personal qualities: his warmth, empathy, humour and above all, his humanity.
“Whilst a daring doyen of Family Law, his most impactful decision was made in the Administrative Court. In 2017, he quashed as discriminatory a statutory instrument which disallowed claims for Personal Independence Payments based on psychological distress. That decision, which was not appealed by the Government, has benefitted thousands of people with mental health conditions. The Rule of Law and Judicial Independence at its best.”
In a recent interview for the Law School, Nicholas reflected on his impressive career.
“I did my first case as a barrister on 9 June 1981 and my last case as a judge, 42 years later, on 28 July 2023. A career highlight as a barrister was winning the case of Miller v Miller [2006] UKHL 24 in the House of Lords. As a judge, my decision in R (on the application of RF) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2017] EWHC 3375 (Admin), where I quashed the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 reg.2(4) which excluded the PIP in cases where the mobility impairment derived from psychological distress. The judgment was not appealed.
In second place would be my judgment in Hasan v Ul-Hasan (Deceased) & Anor [2021] EWHC 1791 (Fam) which was described by the Supreme Court as “magisterial” and “potentially seminal” (see Unger & Anor v Ul-Hasan (deceased) & Anor [2023] UKSC 22).”
On the biggest challenges Nicholas faced as a barrister, he explained: “turning the House of Lords round in Miller from a badly losing position at the end of the first day. It required a Herculean feat by me and my juniors (who included Professor Bailey-Harris, the Dean at the Law School from 1998 - 2001) the next day to get them back on side.”
Having graduated from the LLB Law course in 1979, Nicholas reflected on his time as a law student and his greatest achievements.
“The highlight during my time at the Law School was winning the Lloyd’s Bank inter-varsity debating award for best individual speaker at the competition held at the Oxford Union in October 1978. Jonathan Gould and Chris Hamel-Smith won the best team award. It was a clean sweep by Bristol.”
“I would not have secured even a fraction of what I have achieved without the critical influence of Prof Nigel Lowe who taught me family law here and of his wife Prof Brenda Sufrin who was my personal tutor. Between them they are responsible for everything I have achieved.”
If I could give one tip to my former student self, it would be from the start enjoy the scholarship for what it is and not just as a means to an end.”
In May 2020, Nicholas was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Later that year in September 2020, he and five other PD sufferers formed a group to share knowledge and awareness of the disease, which turned into a current and successful podcast called ‘Movers and Shakers’. The first episode was recorded on 6 February 2023, together with Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Mark Mardel, Rory Cellan- Jones, Jeremy Paxman and Paul Mayhew-Archer.