Dundee law graduate to become UK judge at Strasbourg

Tim Eicke QC has won a three-way contest to be the next UK judge at the European Court of Human Rights.

Mr Eicke, whose name was put forward as the best qualified candidate, won by a clear majority of parliamentary representatives at the Council of Europe.

He read English law at the University of Dundee before studying German law at Passau University and is a barrister at Essex Court Chambers. Mr Eicke is fluent in German and took silk in 2011. Last year, he represented the Home Secretary at the Supreme Court in a case on statelessness.

Jessica Simor QC and Murray Hunt were also in the running for the vacancy created by the forthcoming retirement of Paul Mahoney, who turns 70 in September, the compulsory age of retirement from the court.

Ms Simor, who speaks fluent French, is a barrister at Matrix Chambers. She took silk in 2013 and appeared for Privacy International and the Open Rights Group at the European Court of Justice in a case against the UK government over surveillance.

Mr Hunt is a former barrister and legal adviser to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights and a founder of Matrix Chambers as well as a visiting professor at Oxford University.