Honorary Fellowship awarded to former ‘Old Bailey’ judge

The Right Honourable Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (Chancellor, Aberystwyth University) with His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC

His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC, former Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court, “the Old Bailey” has been presented with an Honorary Fellowship of Aberystwyth University.

Nicholas Cooke QC graduated in law from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, as it then was, in 1976. He was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1977 and thereafter appeared as a barrister in a wide range of cases, based in Cardiff, from 1994 to 2007.

He sat as an Assistant Recorder and Recorder (part-time judge) on the Wales and Chester Circuit and elsewhere from 1994 -1997.

He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1998 and became leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit in 2006. In 2007 he was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge and the Recorder of Cardiff.

He then sat as a judge at the Central Criminal Court (The “Old Bailey”) from 2012 to 2018. He also sat as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division, Administrative Court, and Planning Court and as an Additional Judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) between 2007 and 2018. After retiring as a full time judge he continued to sit in the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales until 2021.

He is the Chancellor of the Diocese of St Davids and the President of the Provincial Court of the Church in Wales. In retirement he is studying part-time for a doctorate, researching into sentencing for murder at Worcester College, Oxford University.

His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC was presented as Honorary Fellow by Professor Emyr Lewis, Head of the Department of Law and Criminology on Thursday 14 July 2022.

The full conferral presentation is available below, in the language in which it was delivered.

Presentation of His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC by Professor Emyr Lewis:

Ganghellor, Ddirprwy Is-Ganghellor, raddedigion a  chyfeillion.  Pleser o’r mwyaf yw cyflwyno Ei Anrhydedd Nicholas Cooke CF yn gymrawd Prifysgol Aberystwyth.

Chancellor, Pro Vice-Chancellor, graduates and supporters.  It is an honour and a privilege to present His Honour Nicholas Cooke QC as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University.

It is a particular pleasure to present someone who is a graduate in law from this University who has gone on to follow a distinguished career first as a practitioner and then as a judge.

Hailing from Northfield, Nick was educated at King Edward’s School Birmingham, and was in the first generation from his family to go to University. He had developed a love for Ceredigion as a child, so coming to Aberystwyth was a natural choice for him.

He was a gifted student, graduating with a first in Law in 1976 as well as gaining the prestigious Sweet and Maxwell Prize. His achievements at Aber were not only academic: he took part in hockey and athletics and was a member of the entertainments committee, including a stint as a disc Jockey.

After finishing his bar exams and securing an entrance exhibition to the Middle Temple he was called to the bar in 1977 and did his pupillage in Cardiff under the guidance of another distinguished alumnus of this Department the late Vernon Pugh QC.

His ability as a barrister was evident early in his career with members of the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords (including some not given to saying nice things about advocates) praising the quality of his arguments a mere 5 years after graduating.

Nick’s practice covered both civil and criminal cases, including sterling work representing the victims of industrial accidents. As his career progressed, he developed a particular specialism in the fields of planning and local government. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1998 becoming leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit in 2006.

As a practitioner he was involved in several important and high-profile cases, including being Counsel to the highly significant Clywch inquiry which made far-reaching recommendations about the safeguarding of children.

While he was in practice, Nick also sat as a judge in Wales and further afield, so it was not surprising that in 2007 he was appointed to the full time position of being a Senior Circuit Judge and the Recorder of Cardiff.

He then sat as a judge at the Central Criminal Court (The “Old Bailey”) from 2012 to 2018. He also sat as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Queen’s Bench Division, Administrative Court, and Planning Court and as an Additional Judge of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) between 2007 and 2018.

After retiring as a full time judge he continued to sit in the Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales until 2021.

He is the Chancellor of the Diocese of St Davids and the President of the Provincial Court of the Church in Wales.

In retirement he is studying part-time for a doctorate, researching into sentencing for murder at Worcester College, Oxford University.

Ganghellor, mae’n bleser gen i gyflwyno Nicholas Cooke i chi yn Gymrawd. 

Chancellor, it is my absolute pleasure to present Nicholas Cooke to you as a Fellow of Aberystwyth University.

Aberystwyth University Honours 2022

During Graduation 2022, the University will present ten Honorary Fellowships to individuals who have or have had a connection with Aberystwyth or Wales, and who have made an outstanding contribution to their chosen field. 

This year’s Fellows include leading figures from the arts, broadcasting, law, agriculture, and the science and technology sectors.

The 2022 Honorary Fellows are (in order of presentation):

• Professor Dame Elan Closs Stephens DBE, Electoral Commissioner for Wales and Non-Executive Director of the BBC Board and its member for Wales
• Myrddin ap Dafydd, author, publisher and Archdruid of Wales
• The Hon Justice Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Court of Appeal Judge, Malaysia
• Harry Venning, award winning cartoonist, illustrator and comedy writer
• Dr Zoe Laughlin, co-founder and director of the Institute of Making
• Rhuanedd Richards, BBC Wales' National Director
• Jonathan Whelan, IT consultant, author and Fellow of the British Computer Society
• Tom Jones OBE, agriculturalist and founding Chair of the Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust
• His Honour Judge Nicholas Cooke QC, former Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court, “the Old Bailey”
• Gwerfyl Pierce Jones, former Director and Chief Executive of the Welsh Books Council

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