From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
, or
Lord Chancellor
is a senior and important functionary in the
government
of the
United Kingdom
. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State after the
Lord High Steward
. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the
Sovereign
on the advice of the
Prime Minister
. Before the
Union
there were separate Lord Chancellors
[1]
of England and Scotland.
Until
Tony Blair
became Prime Minister the Lord Chancellor was required to be a member of the
House of Lords
,was its presiding officer, and was Britain's highest-ranking judge. Blair tried to abolish the position and wound up removing some of its responsibilities and dividing others, and now the holder is usually in the
House of Commons
. The Lord Chancellor remains responsible for the
Great Seal
and for the efficient functioning and independence of the
courts
.
[2]
The current Lord Chancellor is
Alex Chalk
,who replaced
Dominic Raab
[3]
in 2023.
Formerly, there were separate Chancellors of England, Scotland and Ireland. When the
Kingdom of England
and the
Kingdom of Scotland
united to form the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
under the
Acts of Union 1707
the offices of the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland were combined to form a single office of Lord Chancellor of Great Britain for the new
state
.
[4]
[5]
- ↑
The title can be pluralized 'Lord Chancellors' or 'Lords Chancellor'. The former is more common and is used for consistency throughout the article. See Gardner, B., (2001),
A dictionary of modern legal usage
, Oxford University Press, p. 538.
- ↑
Formerly he was also the presiding officer of the
House of Lords
, and the head of the
judiciary
in England and Wales, but the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 transferred these roles to the
Lord Speaker
and the
Lord Chief Justice
respectively.
- ↑
"Prisons Minister Robert Buckland QC to be new Lord Chancellor ? The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs"
. 24 July 2019
. Retrieved
2019-08-01
.
- ↑
Treasure, Geoffrey (2009) [2004].
"Cowper, William, first Earl Cowper (1665?1723), politician and lord chancellor"
.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/6511
.
ISBN
978-0-19-861412-8
. Retrieved
2021-06-17
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)
- ↑
Murdoch, Alexander (2007).
"England, Scotland, and the Acts of Union (1707)"
.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
:
10.1093/ref:odnb/96282
.
ISBN
978-0-19-861412-8
. Retrieved
2021-06-17
.
(Subscription or
UK public library membership
required.)