to 13 years. Fulford received the UK Government's nomination, and was subsequently elected in 2003 to serve, as one of 18 judges of the International Criminal Court for a term of nine years, and was assigned to the Trial Division. He was sworn into office on 11 March 2003. Fulford presided over the ICC's first trial, that of Thomas Lubanga, and in that capacity delivered the court's first guilty verdict on 14 March 2012. Court of Appeal On 10 May 2013, Fulford was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal. In March 2014, the Mail on Sunday printed allegations that Fulford had been a supporter of the Pedophile Information Exchange (PIE) in the 1970s. Following this allegation, he stepped down from judging criminal cases and an official investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office took place. The investigation, by Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, concluded on 18 June 2014 that the allegations against Fulford were "without substance" and he "was not and had never been a supporter of PIE or its aims". Following his exoneration, Fulford resumed sitting as a judge on the full range of appeals. Fulford was appointed as the Deputy Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2015, and was promoted to Senior Presiding Judge on 1 January 2016 succeeding Peter Gross. On 31 March 2017, Fulford stood down from this position, to accept appointment as the first Investigatory Powers Commissioner in which role he will be supported by fifteen senior judges appointed under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. In 2021, he presided over the sentencing of Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Sarah Everard. Sentencing him at the Old Bailey to a whole-life tariff, Fulford described the case as "devastating, tragic and wholly brutal" and told Couzens he had eroded public confidence in the police. On 1 October 2022, Fulford retired as a Lord Justice of Appeal. Honours He was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1994. He was Knighted as a Knight Bachelor on 16 December 2002. The award was Gazetted on 11 March 2003. He was sworn in as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 2013. This allows him the Honorific Title "The Right Honourable" for Life. He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) by the University of Southampton in 2011. See also Murder of Sarah Everard References 1953 births Living people