Dame Laura Cox

Dame Laura Cox served as a High Court Judge from 2002 until 2016, when she stood down from the Bench to enable her to pursue other interests and activities. She remains a Bencher of the Inner Temple and in 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Queen Mary, University of London for her contribution to the law.

Before her judicial appointment in 2002, Laura was in practice as a barrister for 25 years, specialising in equality and employment law. In 1995, she was elected as Head of Cloisters Chambers. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994 and in December 2002 she received a “Lifetime Achievement” award from the organisations “Liberty” and “Justice” for her commitment to equality and human rights over 25 years at the Bar.

In 1998 Laura was appointed as the British member of the International Labour Organisation’s Committee of Independent Experts, one of the oldest and most respected United Nations supervisory bodies, a post she held for 15 years, monitoring ILO Member States’ compliance with international labour and equality standards.

In 2013 she was elected as the Vice President of the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges, serving in that role until her retirement from the Bench. She was also an active member of the Judicial College, co-designing and chairing the cross-jurisdictional skills and ethics courses for courts and tribunals judges.

Since 2016, Laura has undertaken work for a variety of organisations in the areas of equality and human rights. She has also conducted several independent investigations or inquiries, including the Independent Inquiry into the Bullying and Harassment of House of Commons Staff, delivering her final report to the House in October 2018.

Laura's post with IPSA is that of our former high judicial officeholder.

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