Jill Black, Lady Black of Derwent
She authored the 2015 Supreme Court judgment that compelled the government to fund a drug for a rare disease, establishing a precedent for judicial review of NHS rationing.
Born 1954 (age 72)·British judge·Birthday: June 1·Baby Boomers
Biography
In 2015, Lady Black of Derwent delivered the lead judgment in *R (on the application of Condliff) v North Staffordshire Primary Care Trust*. The ruling forced the NHS to fund the drug Ivacaftor for a patient with a rare genetic mutation of cystic fibrosis. Black's judgment established that healthcare rationing bodies must give proper, reasoned consideration to exceptional individual cases, subjecting their decisions to rigorous judicial review. Appointed to the Supreme Court in 2010, she was its second female Justice. A specialist in family and medical law, she previously served as a High Court judge in the Family Division from 1999. Her 2017 judgment in *R (on the application of A) v Secretary of State for Health* clarified the legal test for depriving mentally incapacitated adults of their liberty in care homes. Black retired from the Supreme Court in January 2021. Her jurisprudence, particularly in *Condliff*, created a tangible legal mechanism for patients to challenge funding denials for high-cost treatments. This shifted the balance between institutional resource allocation and individual clinical need in English law.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jill was born in 1954, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jill Was Born
The biggest hits of 1954
#1 Movie
White Christmas
Best Picture
On the Waterfront
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Jill's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1954Born
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1959Started school
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1967Became a teenager
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Could drive
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1972Could vote
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Turned 21
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1984Turned 30
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 40
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 50
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 60
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 70
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 72 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored the landmark 2015 Supreme Court ruling in R (Condliff) v NHS on drug funding and individual patient rights.
- Appointed as the second female Justice of the UK Supreme Court in 2010.
- Served as a High Court Judge in the Family Division for over a decade (1999-2010).
Did You Know?
She is a certified scuba diver.
She was the first solicitor to be appointed directly to the High Court bench in over 50 years.
She chaired the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct in the late 1990s.
“The duty to give reasons is a fundamental part of procedural fairness.”
