| Honorific-Prefix: | The Right Honourable |
| Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | CVO PC |
| Office: | Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom |
| Term Start: | 17 April 2012 |
| Term End: | 6 March 2020 |
| Nominator: | Kenneth Clarke |
| Appointer: | Elizabeth II |
| Predecessor: | The Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood |
| Successor: | Lord Leggatt |
| Office2: | Senior President of Tribunals |
| Term Start2: | 12 November 2007 |
| Term End2: | 17 April 2012 |
| Predecessor2: | Inaugural |
| Successor2: | Lord Justice Sullivan |
| Office3: | Lord Justice of Appeal |
| Term Start3: | 15 January 2002 |
| Term End3: | 17 April 2012 |
| Office4: | Chairman of the Law Commission of England and Wales |
| Term Start4: | 1998 |
| Term End4: | July 2002 |
| Successor4: | Lord Justice Toulson |
| Predecessor4: | Lady Justice Arden |
| Birth Date: | 15 March 1945 |
| Birthname: | Robert John Anderson Carnwath |
| Education: | Eton College |
| Alma Mater: | Trinity College, Cambridge |
Robert John Anderson Carnwath, Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill, CVO, PC (born 15 March 1945) is a former British Supreme Court judge.[1]
The son of Sir Andrew Carnwath KCVO, Robert Carnwath was educated at Eton College, where he won the Newcastle Scholarship, and Trinity College, Cambridge.[2]
Carnwath was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1968. He practised in parliamentary law, planning and local government, revenue law, and administrative law. He held the appointment of junior counsel to the Inland Revenue (Common Law) from 1980 to 1985, succeeded by Alan Moses, later Lord Justice Moses. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1985, and was Attorney General to the Prince of Wales from 1988 to 1994.
He was appointed as a High Court judge on 3 October 1994, assigned to the Chancery Division, and received the customary knighthood. He served as chairman of the Law Commission from 1999 to July 2002. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal on 15 January 2002 and, as is customary, became a member of the Privy Council. He was sworn in as the first Senior President of Tribunals on 12 November 2007.
On 20 December 2011, Carnwath was announced as an appointee to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.[3] By Royal Warrant, all members of the Supreme Court, even if they do not hold a peerage, are entitled to the judicial courtesy title "Lord" for life.[4] Carnwath was granted the judicial courtesy title Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill.
Carnwath is the chairman of the advisory council for the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. He plays the piano and viola, as well as singing in the Bach Choir.
Lord Carnwath is an honorary professor of law at University College London, an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and a visiting professor in practice at the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics. He is also currently a Yorke Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Outside the law, he is a keen amateur musician. He is a former governor of the Royal Academy of Music (Hon FRAM) and former chairman of the Britten-Pears Foundation.