Margaret Obi

The Honourable
Mrs Justice Obi
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
Justice of the High Court
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 October 2025
Appointed byCharles III

Dame Margaret Obi is a British judge who is a justice of the High Court. She is the most senior black judge in the United Kingdom.[1]

Biography

Margaret Obi was born and grew up in London.[2] She is of Nigerian descent.[3] She qualified as a solicitor in 1998.[4] Obi worked as a special adviser to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.[5]

In 2018, she was appointed as a deputy High Court judge.[6] In February 2023, she was appointed as the first Service Police Complaints Commissioner.[7] In December 2024, she ruled that twelve asylum seekers had been unlawfully detained as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory.[8] In 2025, she was appointed as a House of Lords Commissioner for Standards.[9]

In 2025, she was appointed to the High Court of Justice and assigned to the King's Bench Division.[10] She became the first black woman solicitor to be appointed to the court.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Ames, Jonathan; Baksi, Catherine. "Solicitor sworn in as England's most senior black judge". The Times. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  2. ↑ "New Appointments of High Court Judges". Judicial Appointments Commission. 2025-09-20. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  3. ↑ "Nigerian-Born Margaret Obi Appointed High Court Judge in England and Wales". Gistmania. 2025-10-18. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  4. ↑ "Margaret Obi | Competition Appeal Tribunal". www.catribunal.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  5. ↑ Rigby, Ben (2025-09-26). "Former solicitor becomes High Court judge in four-person appointments round". The Global Legal Post. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  6. ↑ Baksi, Catherine. "Margaret Obi: Getting my foot in the door of the legal profession was a challenge". The Times. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  7. ↑ "Margaret Obi". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  8. ↑ Cuddy, Alice (17 December 2024). "UK unlawfully detained migrants on Diego Garcia, judge finds". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Commissioner for Standards Volume 843". UK Parliament. 12 February 2025.
  10. ↑ "Appointment of a High Court Judge: Obi". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 2025-09-25. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  11. ↑ Chinonye, Amanze (2025-10-23). "'I'm Not a Statistic': Margaret Obi Becomes First Black Uk High Court Judge from Solicitor Profession". Retrieved 2026-07-09.

See also

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