T Valedictory for Her Honour Judge Korner CMG QC

VALEDICTORY FOR HER HONOUR JUDGE KORNER CMG QC

Master Deborah Taylor (Reader and Presiding Judge, Southwark Crown Court), The Rt Hon Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, Master Ryder and Master Joanna Korner, 30 July 2021.

Judge Taylor: Today, Southwark Crown Court says farewell to Her Honour Judge Korner, with our very best wishes for her future as a judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, her second home. Judge Korner has had a long and distinguished career, both at the Bar and as a judge in the English and international courts. She was appointed silk in 1993 and in 2004 was made a CMG, a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to international criminal law. I confess, that I had to look up CMG, not having one myself, obviously. I found out that the order is known in the civil service as ‘Call me God’, Mr Ryder if only we had known, all that time lost. But perhaps better not as even for someone as grounded as Judge Korner it might have gone to her head.

During her career at the Criminal Bar, Judge Korner’s practice was in serious crime; in between three stints at The Hague, she was Senior Prosecuting Counsel at the International Criminal Tribunal, for the former Yugoslavia, in cases involving genocide. Between 2004 and 2005, she was the Chief Prosecutor in the Tribunal for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

When Judge Korner was appointed as Circuit judge in 2012, initially she sat at Snaresbrook. However, using transferable skills, no doubt gained from her experience of war crimes tribunals and personifying those current buzzwords ‘agile’ and ‘flexible’, Judge Korner took her opportunity, tunnelled her way out and came to Southwark – the pockets of her judicial robe still filled with the soil of north-east London.

The work here at Southwark, whilst having international elements, has been rather different from her previous diet; but Judge Korner has shown her ability to deal with all seven deadly sins, and taken it in her stride, using skills honed dealing with crimes of genocide committed with all manner of violence and weapons of war, tackling multimillionpound frauds committed with the tap of a finger on a computer key or with finely forged financial instruments.

My own first meeting with Judge Korner was a virtual one, in the pre-digital days before virtual was a thing; it was in the pages of a book. In 1998, Trevor Grove wrote The Juryman’s Tale, about his experience as foreman of a jury in a kidnapping case at the Central Criminal Court. Joanna Korner, Queen’s Counsel, as she then was, was prosecuting counsel, and the book gives us a snapshot of her at that time. Unsurprisingly, Mr Grove and his jury had nothing but praise for her, as was apparent from his description. Judge Korner must have a portrait in the attic, as in over 20 years, little has changed. She is still as he described her, tall and elegant, clever and intelligible, with the pre-Downton Abbey unfashionably posh voice, which he thought might put the jury off but did not. Judge Korner goes to The Hague with an outstanding international reputation; around the world, advocates and judges in many jurisdictions have benefited over the years from training organised or delivered by Judge Korner in her work as Head of the International Faculty of the Advocacy Training Council, between 2005 and 2011, and as International Course Director of the Judicial College, between 2014 and 2017, in addition to her work on behalf of the Inner Temple. Unfortunately, the judges here at Southwark proved a step too far even for Judge Korner, so we totter on, wayward and untrained, lacking the benefits of her expertise.

Unlike most valedictories, today does not mark the end of a career or a retirement but a new beginning. Judge Korner has been an exemplary judge at Southwark. It has been said that she has been known to express a view from time to time, and even occasionally a strong view; but we will all miss her straight talking, tempered always by great experience and her boundless good humour. The Hague lost a doughty and skilful prosecutor but will now regain a judge of outstanding quality. On behalf of all your fellow judges here at Southwark, we wish you every happiness in the sure knowledge of your success.

Lord Justice Haddon-Cave: As the Recorder of Westminster has just elegantly outlined, Judge Korner has had a long and distinguished career at the Bar and as a judge in the English and international courts. At a time when most judges would be hanging up their wigs and getting out the box sets of season six and seven of Line of Duty to try and work out what really happened, Judge Korner is about to embark on a fifth decade of her career in the law. She is leaving us to take up her new and important role as a judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This has always seemed her destiny; it is as if the past four decades have been merely a dress rehearsal for the heavy mantle in The Hague which she is about to wear. Her Excellency Judge Joanna Korner CMG QC, as she now is, has a fine ring about it, does it not? This is because Joanna Korner is excellent. She is an excellent judge, an excellent lawyer, an excellent person of great integrity and judgment, and she has been an excellent friend and colleague to many of us here today. Judge Korner will make a very fine ambassador for this country and for the law.

Judge Korner is about to embark on a fifth decade of her career in the law. She is leaving us to take up her new and important role as a judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. This has always seemed her destiny; it is as if the past four decades have been merely a dress rehearsal for the heavy mantle in The Hague which she is about to wear.

Some of you will know that Judge Korner has already had one global career, as an international advocacy trainer; some of us have had the privilege of accompanying her on advocacy training trips abroad. What marked these trips was the meticulous preparation that she put into them; she invariably did the heavy lifting, assembling the team, preparing the court’s materials, arranging the timetable, whilst the rest of us were trying to decide which novels to pack.

She also had a great sense of fun. I recall once in Rome after a particularly gruelling day’s training, she said, “Why don’t we go to Harry’s Bar and have James Bond cocktails?” We did. Several. In Mauritius, she apparently caused a sensation at the races at Port Louis, by putting a bet on a rank outsider, saying loudly in her immaculate diction, “The horse is bound to win.” It did.

I have lost count of the number of times on my own trips abroad when, on learning that I was a lawyer from England, I have been asked, “Do you know Joanna Korner?” Judge Korner has had the privilege of spending the last few years sitting in Southwark, one of the finest courts in the land, with some of the finest judges in the land. It has been a perfect finishing school in preparation of her onerous duties at The Hague.

Everyone can take pride in her achievement; we hope Judge Korner will think fondly of us, even though we have been merely but a speed bump in her illustrious career. We now bid her au revoir and wish her every success as she embarks on this important new chapter of her career.

Mr Ryder: My Lady, it is a singular honour to respond on behalf of the Bar at this valedictory for HHJ Korner. Looking at the current assembly, only a fool would fail to observe that all institutions are enlivened by the presence of strong, characterful women. The 1980s Conservative Party by Thatcher. The Democratic Party by Hilary. The Simpsons by Marge. The Southwark Crown Court by Korner. The charisma of the latter and her conduct of trials are characterised by three principal features: presence; her unusually communicative facial expressions; and her singular, unique manner of speech.

The presence is instantly felt. To stand on the Staten Island of counsel’s row or the Devil’s Island of the dock and witness the Korner liner emerging from the mists of the judicial corridor is to be awestruck by the majestic profile, stateliness of carriage and an indefinable sense of will. As was once said of Dame Edith Sitwell, it was like watching the “high alter on the move”. The judicial seat is taken. The head tilted back. The gaze directed from far above but down and along the patrician nose. At this point, who could not recall the words of the Doors’ Jim Morrison, “The future is uncertain, but the end is surely near”?

Despite this, it should not be thought that Judge Korner has any sense of loftiness or hauteur. She applies the strongest sense self-criticism in her tireless efforts to improve on perfection. This is best illustrated by a quotation from a recent interview conducted by an organisation called ATLAS. Her Excellency was asked, “What are some of the challenges that you’ve faced, and how have you tackled them?”

She mentioned one or two of the extraordinarily daunting obstacles she has had to overcome in her daily life. Obstacles that would readily defeat all but the strongest characters: the overwhelming difficulty in finding bridge partners of sufficient skill; the exhausting need to remain alert to prevent ill-informed waiters putting ice into a single malt, and then said, “Another learning curve has been the development of humility.”

Whilst the presence is awesome and majestic, the mannerisms – like the mind that informs them – are subtle. They comprise facial and verbal expressions. They are so subtle that she needs only one of each. The facial expression is one of scepticism. It is varied solely by its intensity. From personal experience in a relatively recent fraud trial, I can attest that it was observed in all its shades during what I hoped to be my plausible and persuasive submissions on a rather novel point of law. The sceptical impression moved – and none too slowly – through initial suspicion to disbelief and outright incredulity. As Judge Korner looked quizzically on – her head shaking almost imperceptibly – this was the first time that I felt that her judicial opinion of my performance reflected Dr Johnson’s adage about a dog walking on its hind legs: “It is not done well, but it is astonishing that it is done at all.”

With the impact of her facial expressions so powerful, verbal expression is largely unnecessary. Einstein believed that the entirety of the laws of physics could be reduced to a single equation. Judge Korner has proved able to apply the entire law of England and Wales to a single verbal expression. It is not so much a linguistic as a musical phrase. However complicated the submission, however challenging the question, it is despatched with a single “AHHHMMM”.

It is of course easy to satirise so colourful, life-enhancing and loveable a character. But it should not be at the cost of Judge Korner’s defining characteristics and achievements. Whilst obviously humour, conviviality and companion-ability are ever apparent, limitless kindness, generosity and indefatigable energy in helping and encouraging others are the most fundamental. She has given enormous amounts of her time and applied inexhaustible energy to advocacy training domestically and internationally. The former offers encouragement and support to developing members of the profession here; the latter greatly enhances its reputation abroad.

Her work and her courageous and uncompromising reports regarding the effective and efficient trial of war criminals in post-conflict states in southern and eastern Europe have contributed greatly to the establishment of human rights and democratic values there. Her achievements are simply extraordinary, and they will continue in her new role. It is a source of professional and national pride. We wish her every success and happiness in this fondest of farewells.

Her work and her courageous and uncompromising reports regarding the effective and efficient trial of war criminals in post-conflict states in southern and eastern Europe have contributed greatly to the establishment of human rights and democratic values there. Her achievements are simply extraordinary, and they will continue in her new role. It is a source of professional and national pride.

Judge Korner: I do not know what to say after that, but I will come back to Mr Ryder. Pre-COVID-19, we have listened, many of us, to a number of these valedictories. My overwhelming impression of them is that the leaving judge, knowing that this is his or her last chance to opine from the bench with a captive audience, decides to rehearse his or her career from the time of pupillage, via great cases of the Bar (I have not got any great cases); followed by a rehearsal of great cases on the bench (well, I have not had any of those either); and finally ends by taking a sideswipe at in, no particular order, the CPS, HMCTS, the MOJ, at the end of their oration. Well, I am not going to do any of that, so I hope that this will be short.

I want to start with apologies. First, the court staff here who have the unenviable task of managing the running of this building, namely Janine and Alison. I just want both of them to know that my litany of complaints about the

heat in whichever court I was sitting simply had the best interests of the staff at heart and of course counsel and the jury. The fact that I caused everybody to come down with severe colds is merely a by-product of that desire.

I want to next apologise to the List Office Ian Robert and John, because when they sent out a list with timings, I would be emailing them, saying that they have allowed far too much time for a PTPH, and could they move everything up, and no, I was not often prepared to allow counsel to appear via CVP; this comes under my apologies to the Bar.

The clerks in this court: well, they were landed with passing on my complaints about the heat, my refusal to fill in those ridiculous forms about why trials had cracked (does anybody think that anybody in the MOJ ever looks at these things?) and my complete inability to remember, the day after I had finished a case, what orders I had made and why I had made them.

The ushers: pre-COVID-19, we had permanent ushers assigned to us; mine never seemed to stay for any length of time. Nearly all of them were promoted, if that is the right word: Ben became a clerk; Celeste, before she went to the CPS, was promoted to the List Office; as was Isabelle. I take the view that all of these promotions were as a result of the excellent training that was provided by me. To all the ushers, I apologise for that fact that I did not allow you formally to open court; as I kept on saying, when asked whether I wanted a formal opening of the court, “Do I look like Judge Anthony Leonard?”

To the Probation Service: I apologise for the criticism of reports generally, and suggestions that during lockdown, drug rehabilitation or unpaid work was a sensible suggestion. But I do know, and I genuinely apologise for that, many of the problems were caused by the constant government changes in the structure of the service.

To counsel: after John’s final remarks, I am not sure what I ought to apologise for, but, for impatience and my facial expressions, which I may say I was warned about as a pupil. Advocacy training I cannot stop, so I know that I have delivered advocacy training from the bench, not only to the Junior Bar.

Finally, to my fellow judges: apologies for never being able to express an opinion, always sitting firmly on the fence and never ever wanting to go out for a drink.

To my fellow judges: apologies for never being able to express an opinion, always sitting firmly on the fence and never ever wanting to go out for a drink.

So that brings me to thanks, genuine, heartfelt thanks: first of all, to Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, Charlie as he is known to his friends, for appointing me. Charles and I have worked together in two institutions – the Advocacy Training Council and the Judicial College. Both times he appointed me International Course Director for being the most entertaining companion one could have on one’s travels. You will not be surprised to hear that I do not remember anything about the James Bonds at all; that is good, because I had rather more than he did.

To Deborah, for being such an excellent and supportive resident judge and a good friend. To John Ryder, what can I say? I am left speechless, but I want you to know that that interview as rehearsed by him is not the interview that I gave, and indeed any recent interviews are all down to the Foreign Office who insisted that I campaign for the election. To Maura (McGowan): whose keenness on bridge equals Emma, and so for anybody looking for a bridge party, Maura is your girl, as it were.

To Emma: my oldest friend, the only high court judge that I know of who has had two swearing-in ceremonies. One was held yesterday where the Lord Chief commended her on her bicycling skills. Her family and I sitting there were all shaking our heads because the most irritating factor about Mrs Justice Arbuthnot is her bike, which has to be left somewhere when we go out for dinner or to the theatre or wherever it is.

To the court staff for correcting my legal errors and assessing which of the clerks would be able to deal with me.

To the general administration in the building: too many of them to name but I am just going to name one – Tyler Francis. He sent me an email to say he was leaving and I wrote to say how sorry I was he was leaving and that I was very grateful for all his help, and he wrote back as follows, “Dear Judge, no worries, you are by far the funniest judge at Southwark, with your replies to counsel’s emails.”

I thank everybody, the List Office and all the administration, for putting up with me.

To all the ushers: I thank them for their help and kindness. And to my fellow judges, for their friendship and help when I had a problem. The cases at this court, as everyone knows, are enormously complex ones and the one sideswipe I do feel justified in making – because I am leaving it cannot be said there is a personal interest involved – is that this is still not recognised by the Ministry of Justice. The judges at the Central Criminal Court are recognised as senior Circuit judges because of the complexity of the work that they do; the same is not applied to the judges at this court, and I do say that in my judgment it should be.

Whilst all the judges have been helpful, I am going to single out one in particular, because he is here today – Nick Lorraine-Smith. He retired in May of last year and so he did not get an occasion like this. If any judge deserved it, he did – he was one of the longest-serving judges at this court, one of the most respected for his expertise at his judgment and his good humour. He was the person to whom I would go to first for advice, and it was always good; his only failing was his desire to persuade his fellow judges that a good works outing was going to the National Film Theatre to see some completely obscure film made about 50 years ago.

And finally, but in a sense it should have come first chronologically, I want to thank my old chambers, 6 King’s Bench Walk, David Perry and, in particular, I want to thank the retired and present senior clerks of number 6 – David Garstang and Andrew Barnes, who is also here today. Without them – and without the benefit of having had as a pupil master and as a mentor all through my career, Ann Curnow, who regrettably died at a young age – without their help and assistance, I would never have had the career that I have been lucky to have.

So, I thank everybody, and as you know, I will be from 1 September in The Hague, and anybody who wants to come out there, not to see the court but to go out and have a good time, it will be great to see you.

Her Honour Judge Deborah Taylor, The Rt Hon Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, John Ryder QC and Her Excellency Judge Korner

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