Robin Knowles

For the medieval knight, see Robert Knolles.

Sir Robin St John Knowles CBE (born 7 April 1960), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Knowles, is a judge of the High Court of England and Wales.^[1]

The Honourable Mr Justice Knowles
Knowles in 2022
High Court Judge King's Bench Division
Incumbent
Assumed office 2014
Personal details
Born	(1960-04-07) 7 April 1960 (age 65)
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

He was educated at Sir Roger Manwood's School and read Law at Trinity College, Cambridge.^[2][3]

He was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1982 and he began practising in 1984. In 1999, he was appointed a QC.^[3] He was Chair of the Commercial Bar Association of England & Wales and of Advocate (the Bar Pro Bono Unit) and the National Pro Bono Centre.^[3]

In 1998, he was appointed an Assistant Recorder, followed by a Recorder in 2000, and Deputy High Court Judge in 2007.^[3] He has been a judge of the High Court of Justice (King's Bench Division) since 1 October 2014. He became a judge of the Commercial Court in 2015, and is a designated Judge of the Financial List.^[3]

Sir Robin was awarded the CBE in 2007 for services to pro bono legal services.^[3]

Knowles attracted media attention in July 2025 over his past decision to impose a superinjunction in the Afghan data leak affair. Knowles had said in his 2023 judgment that he had gone further than what the Ministry of Defence had requested: “Although it was proposed that the order (not the hearing) should be in public and published on the court website, I have decided it should be in private and not published on the website, at least at this stage.” ^[4]