She will manage judges and case allocation until a permanent division president is appointed.
Joanna Smith appointment as interim Deputy President of the Business and Property Division will take effect on 1 November 2026, following a decision by the Lady Chief Justice. Mrs Justice Joanna Smith will lead the division’s day-to-day management until a permanent president is appointed.
The appointment comes shortly after the creation of the new Business and Property Division. Mrs Justice Smith will take responsibility for its leadership when Sir Colin Birss takes up his appointment as Master of the Rolls.
The interim role is intended to support the division during this period of transition, bringing together judges from the former Chancery and King’s Bench Divisions alongside newly appointed members of the High Court.
Responsibilities of the interim Deputy President
Mrs Justice Smith’s responsibilities will include the day-to-day management and leadership of the Business and Property Division. She will oversee the deployment of judges and the allocation of cases, helping to manage the division’s judicial workload.
Her duties will also extend to the Business and Property Courts outside London. She will liaise with and oversee their Supervising Judges, as well as provide pastoral support to judges working within the division.
These responsibilities place the interim Deputy President at the centre of the division’s operational management while arrangements remain in place pending the appointment of a permanent president.
The Lady Chief Justice said Mrs Justice Smith’s extensive judicial experience in the Business and Property Courts would help judges from the former divisions, together with newly appointed High Court judges, navigate the transition.
Mrs Justice Joanna Smith’s judicial career
Mrs Justice Smith was called to the Bar in 1990. She was appointed Queen’s Counsel, now known as King’s Counsel, in 2009, recognising her senior standing at the Bar.
In 2017, she was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge. She subsequently became a High Court Judge in 2021 and was assigned to the Chancery Division.
Since joining the High Court, Mrs Justice Smith has regularly sat in both the Chancery and King’s Bench Divisions. Her judicial work has also included sitting in the Technology and Construction Court and the Patents Court.
Her experience across these courts is relevant to her interim responsibilities within the Business and Property Division, which brings together judicial work associated with business and property disputes.
Beyond her judicial work, Mrs Justice Smith has held responsibilities involving tribunal procedure and the development of online procedures.
She chaired the Tribunal Procedure Committee from 2020 to 2024. Since January 2026, she has chaired the Core Group of the Online Procedure Rule Committee.
Interim appointment pending a permanent president
The appointment of Mrs Justice Smith is temporary. It will begin on 1 November 2026 and continue until a new President of the Business and Property Division is appointed.
During this period, she will oversee the division’s daily operations, including judicial deployment, case allocation and support for judges across the division and the Business and Property Courts outside London.
The appointment provides interim leadership during the establishment of the new division, with Mrs Justice Smith drawing on her experience across the Chancery and King’s Bench Divisions, as well as the Technology and Construction Court and the Patents Court.
The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary announced the appointment on 27 October 2026.