A senior judge of the High Court of England and Wales, Mrs Justice Naomi Ellenbogen, has been formally reprimanded for serious misconduct after failing to deliver judgments in five cases within a reasonable time, leaving litigants waiting months for decisions.

The disciplinary action, announced by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO), follows an investigation into complaints that the judge had delayed issuing judgments after hearing cases. The delays ranged from eight to 13 months at the time the complaint was lodged in February 2026.

According to the JCIO, three of the five judgments were still outstanding when the disciplinary decision was reached in October.

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Judge Cites Workload and Case Complexity

Mrs Justice Ellenbogen apologised for the delays but disputed the suggestion that her conduct amounted to misconduct. She attributed the outstanding judgments to workload pressures and the complexity of the cases.

However, the investigating judge concluded that the delays constituted serious misconduct. The cases were not considered unusually lengthy or complex to justify the time taken to deliver the decisions. The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, and Lord Chancellor Alex Norris agreed with the investigating judge that a reprimand was an appropriate and proportionate sanction.

One of the cases reportedly involved a woman who required a hip replacement following an undiagnosed birth defect. The woman had to wait approximately 15 months after a clinical negligence trial before the judgment was delivered.

Apprehensions Over Delayed Court Decisions

Mrs Justice Ellenbogen's reprimand comes amid increasing scrutiny of delays in the delivery of judgments within the English judiciary. In June 2026, another High Court judge, Mr Justice Derek Sweeting, received a formal warning after taking more than 20 months to deliver a judgment. He attributed the delay to a heavy workload.

Similarly, Her Honour Judge Lynn Griffin received a warning in September following a prolonged delay in proceedings before the General Regulatory Chamber, which resulted in the case having to restart. Employment judge Tim Kenward also received a formal warning in June over 46 outstanding decisions. He expressed remorse, citing personal and professional pressures.