BRITISH JUDICIARY

• Lord Chancellor

• Privy Council

• Star Chamber

• Law Lords

• Judges

• Courts

Lord Chancellor

• Until the 14th century: served as royal chaplain and king's secretary

• The office acquired a more judicial character in the reign of Edward III (1327–77)

• Most of the office's powers, exercised in the administrations of St. Thomas Becket (died 1170) and Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey (died 1530), ceased to exist centuries ago.

• The judicial work of contemporary chancellors is confined to the House of Lords and the Privy Council.

• As speaker of the House of Lords, the chancellor states the questions and takes part in debates.

• received an excellent education in "Civil &Canon Law" in England, and then overseas at Paris, Bologna, and Auxerre• as Lord Chancellor (1155 – 1162) supported King Henry II and enforced his danegeld taxes upon all landowners including churches and bishoprics• after appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury, sides with Pope Alexander III, and defends the interests of the Church conflict with the king over Church rights and privileges• the kings’ followers assassinate Beckett in Canterbury Cathedral. Beatified in 1173 Patron of the Exeter College in Oxford, the city of Portsmouth and the secular clergy

St/ Thomas Becket

(December 21, 1117 – December 29, 1170)

Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey (1475 – November 29, 1530)

• Served as chaplain to Henry VII and later Henry VIII, for whom he organized the successful campaign against the French (1513).

• On Henry's recommendation, the Pope made Wolsey successively bishop of Lincoln (1514), archbishop of York (1514), cardinal (1515), and papal legate (1518).

• In 1515 Henry appointed him Lord Chancellorof England.

• As Lord Chancellor (1515 – 1529) turned the Star Chamber into a political weapon againstthe opponents of King Henry VIII

• In 1529, Wolsey failed to persuade the Popeto grant Henry an annulment of his marriage toCatherine of Aragon, for which he soon lost favour and offices except the archbishopric of York.

• In 1530 he was arrested for treason for corresponding with the French court, and he died on his way to face the king.

Saint Thomas More

• London 1478 – London 1535• Lawyer, writer and statesman• Lord Chancellor 1529 – 1532• Coined the word utopia in his

book about an ideal imaginary island nation (published in 1516)

• Refused to accept Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of England, for which he was executed as traitor on July 6, 1535

• canonized in the Catholic Church in 1935 patron saint of lawyers and statesmen, adopted children, civil servants, court clerks, difficult marriages, large families, politicians, step-parents, widowers…

Constitutional Reform Act 2005 full text of the Act:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk.acts.acts2005.20050004.htm • approved by both Houses on March 21, 2005• Received royal assent on March 24, 2005• Changes introduced by the Act:

• Lord Chancellor is no longer speaker • The Speaker takes the title Lord Speaker, whether a man or a woman • The number of deputy speakers reduced from 25 to 12, subject to further

reforms to be taken by the House of Lords itself• New Supreme Court set up, Law Lords move out of the House of Lords• Lord Chancellor is no longer automatically Speaker of the House of

Lords and can now be either from the House of Commons or the House of Lords

• The cabinet position of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs introduced to replace the executive functions of the Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor & Lord Speaker

Kenneth Harry Clarke (born 2/7/1940)

• Coservative politician

• former criminal barrister• was first appointed a minister already in

1972, and is one of Britain's best-known politicians

• Secretary of State for Justice• was sworn in as Lord High Chancellor of

Great Britain on 12 May 2010

Hélène Valerie , Baroness Hayman, • the first Lord Speaker• born March 26, 1949; mother of 4 sons• called “Julie Andrews” of British politics• became a Life Peer in 1996 • Appointed Lord Speaker on July 4 2006, having

narrowly won the election• has to resign her party membership and outside

interests to be impartial (unlike previous Lords Chancellor)

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

• the head of the judiciary of England and Wales

• historically, the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales (after the Lord Chancellor)

• as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the judicial functions were removed from the office of Lord Chancellor to that of the Lord Chief Justice

• the Lord Chief Justice is also the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal.

Baron Igor Judge (born 19/5/1941)

• Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales and

President of the Courts of England and Wales

since 1 October 2008

Privy Council

1. A council of the British sovereign - until the 17th century was the supreme legislative body - now consists of cabinet ministers ex officio and others

appointed for life, - has no important function except through its Judicial

Committee, which in certain cases acts as a supreme appellate court in the Commonwealth

2. An advisory council to the executive branch

• The Privy Council will meet on the following dates in 2007/2008: • 12th December 2007; 12th February 2008; 12th March 2008, ….

Historically, the British sovereign's private council/

• Lost most of its judicial and political functions since the middle of the 17th century/

• Grew out of the medieval curia regis, which comprised the king's tenants in chief, household officials, and other advisers/

• The curia performed all the functions of government working:- in small groups, which became the King's Council, - in large groups, which grew into the Great Council and Parliament/

• It is now chiefly concerned with issuing royal charters, conducting government research, and serving as an appeals body for ecclesiastical and other lesser courts

Queen Victoria held her first Privy Council meeting on the day of her accession in 1837/

Privy Council’s Prerogative powers

• Coin money • Pardon criminals • Dispense from laws • Declare war • Shape foreign policy• Imprison without showing

cause (until 1628)    • Call and dissolve parliament

STAR CHAMBER

• ancient meeting place of the king of England’s councilors in the palace of Westminster in London

• got its name because of stars painted on the ceiling • in the 15th C, under the Lancastrian and Yorkist

kings, the role of the council as an equity and prerogative court increased, and it extended its jurisdiction over criminal matters

• depositions were taken from witnesses, but no jury was employed in the proceedings

• its sentences included various corporal punishments, e.g. whipping, pillorying, and branding, but no one was ever sentenced to death

• abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641

COURTS

• Tribunals

• Civil Courts

• Criminal Courts

• Appelate Courts

• House of Lords

• Court of European Justice

• http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/

The Court Structure of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS)

Division of Courts

• Tribunals

• Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeals Tribunal

• Transport Tribunal• Immigration Appellate

Authority• Immigration Service

Tribunal• Office of the Social

Security and Child Support Commissioners

• Pensions Appeal Tribunals • VAT and Duties Tribunals • General Commissioners of

Income Tax• Lands Tribunal

• Criminal Courts

• Magistrates’ court• Crown court• Criminal division of the court of

appeal

• Criminal courts in Northern Ireland

• Magistrates’ courts• Crown courts• Appeals

• Criminal courts in Scotland

• Sheriff courts• District courts• High Court of Justiciary

• Civil Courts

• County court

• High court

• Family division

• Chancery division

• Queen’s Bench division

• Civil division of the court

of appeal

• House of Lords • Court of European Justice

Senior Judiciary List - Details correct as at: 2 October 2006LORDS OF APPEAL IN ORDINARY (Law Lords)

Date of Birth Date of Appointment

Lord Bingham of Cornhill KG October 13, 1933 June 6, 2000(LCJ 4/6/96; MR 1/10/92; CA 3/2/86; HC QBD

4/4/80)

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead January 25, 1933 October 3, 1994(VC 1/10/91; CA 10/2/86; HC CD 30/9/83)

Lord Hoffmann May 8, 1934 February 21, 1995(CA 30/9/92; HC CD 10/6/85)

Lord Hope of Craighead June 27, 1938 October 1, 1996(LJ of Sc/ 1989)

Lord Saville of Newdigate March 20, 1936 July 28, 1997(CA 11/1/94; HC QBD 18/1/85)

Lord Scott of Foscote October 2, 1934 July 17, 2000(VC 4/10/94; CA 1/10/91; HC CD 23/11/83)

Lord Rodger of Earlsferry September 18, 1944 October 1, 2001(LJ of Sc/ 1996)

Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe March 17, 1938 October 1, 2002(CA 1/10/97; HC CD 3/10/94)

Lady Hale of Richmond January 31, 1945 January 12, 2004(CA 4/10/99; HC FD 12/1/94)

Lord Carswell June 28, 1934 January 12, 2004 (LCJ NI 6/1/97; CA NI 8/11/93; HC NI 6/1/84)

L. Brown of Eaton-Under-Heywood April 9, 1937 January 13, 2004(CA 1/10/92; HC QBD 28/9/84)

Lord Mance June 6, 1943 October 3, 2005(CA 28/4/99; HC QBD 25/10/93)

JUDGES’(Dress Code)

A high court judge A lower court judgeThe Lord Chancellor