Supreme Court President Lord Phillips is set to become president of the Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre – succeeding his UK counterpart Lord Woolf for the third time in his career.

Honkers appeals

The Qatar court was established by the Gulf state’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, in 2009, with the aim of providing a specialist tribunal with international expertise in dispute resolution. The announcement of Lord Phillips’s new role was made at the Qatar Law Forum at the weekend, according to a report in The Lawyer newspaper.
Meanwhile, Lord Phillips – who retires from the Supreme Court at the end of September – has also got the nod from Hong Kong’s judicial officers recommendation commission to take the role of non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong. The country’s Legislative Council is expected to endorse the recommendation shortly.

Tipping successor

According to the report, Lord Phillips is also on the panel overseeing the process of appointing his own successor in the UK, with a reportedly salary of £215,000 in the offing for the selected candidate. Those among the front runners to replace him are understood to include Lords Hope, Dyson, Mance and Neuberger.