The Lord Chancellor's ceremonial dress—a black-and-gold robe and a white, full bottomed wig—dates to the eighteenth century.

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is one of the most senior and important functionaries in the government of the United Kingdom. He is a Great Officer of State, and ranks above all other Great Officers except the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor's responsibilities are wide-ranging; they include presiding over the House of Lords, participating in the Cabinet, acting as the custodian of the Great Seal and heading the judiciary. Concerns over these wide-ranging powers have led to a proposal to abolish the office from Tony Blair's ministry. A bill to achieve the desired effect has been proposed, but has not been passed into law. Since 2003, Lord Falconer of Thoroton has served as Lord Chancellor.

History

The office of Lord Chancellor dates back to the Kingdom of England, at least as far back as the Norman Conquest, and possibly earlier. Some give the first chancellor of England as Angmendus, in 605. Originally, the Lord Chancellor was the officer responsible for keeping the Great Seal of England, the king's right hand man, and was usually a clergyman. Until well into the 17th century, the Lord Chancellor often was one of the most important officials in the English government. He still outranks the Prime Minister in official precedence, and killing the king's chancellor is still an act of high treason under the Statute of Treasons 1351.

Formerly, the Lord Chancellor was always an ecclesiastic, as during the Middle Ages the clergy were amongst the few literate men of the realm. The practice was irregularly adhered to after the Norman Conquest (1066), but the office was almost always held by a clergyman after the middle twelfth century.

Lord Keepers

At some times, the office of Lord Chancellor is replaced by that of Lord Keeper of the Great Seal; the only difference between the two functionaries is that the former is appointed formally by letters patent, and the latter is appointed informally by the delivery of the Great Seal. It is also possible to entrust the office to a Commission, whose members are known as Commissioners of the Great Seal. No person has been Lord Keeper since 1761, and no Commissioners of the Great Seal have acted since 1836.

Legislative functions

The Lord Chancellor is the Speaker or presiding officer of the House of Lords. There is no statute explicitly granting him such a power; rather, he is Speaker by right of prescription. Even a Lord Chancellor who is a commoner may preside over the House of Lords. There are, however, certain instances when the Lord Chancellor does not preside: the Lord High Steward presides during an impeachment trial of a peer for high treason; the Chairman of Committees presides over the Committee of the Whole House. Furthermore, Deputy Speakers appointed by the Sovereign may take the place of an absent Lord Chancellor.

The Lord Chancellor, when presiding over debates, sits on the Woolsack, wearing full court dress and a full bottomed wig. His powers as Speaker, however, are not as broad as those of his counterpart in the House of Commons. Unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor can neither determine who is to speak when two individuals rise at the same time, nor rule on points of order, nor discipline members who violate the rules of the House—all these functions are performed by the House of Lords as a whole. Furthermore, whilst speeches in the House of Commons are addressed to "Mr Speaker," those in the House of Lords are addressed to "My Lords." In practice, the only task of the Lord Chancellor in the Lords Chamber is to formally put the question before a vote, to announce the result of any vote, and to act as the House's mouthpiece. Furthermore, the Lord Chancellor may end the adjournment of the House (or "recall" the House) during a public emergency.

The Lord Chancellor may participate in debates as a peer; when he does so, he stands on the left of the Woolsack. He may also choose to speak from the Government Front Bench, in which case he need not wear his court dress and wig. During speeches, a Lord Chancellor or former Lord Chancellor is referred to as "the noble and learned Lord, Lord X." (Most other Lords are merely "the noble Lord, Lord X.")

Executive functions

The Lord Chancellor is a member of the Privy Council and of the Cabinet. The office he heads was formerly known as the Lord Chancellor's Department. When Lord Falconer of Thoroton was appointed Lord Chancellor in 2003, however, the Department was renamed, becoming the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Lord Chancellor gained the additional position of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.

The Department headed by the Lord Chancellor has many responsibilities, such as the constitutional reforms (including reforms of the office of Lord Chancellor itself) and the administration of the courts. Furthermore, the Lord Chancellor nominates many judges in the courts of England and Wales, who are then appointed by the Sovereign. The Prime Minister retains the power to nominate senior judges—Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, Lords Justices of Appeal and the Heads of the Divisions of the High Court—but in practice does so after consulting with the Lord Chancellor. Furthermore, for historical reasons, lay magistrates in the Duchy of Lancaster are nominated by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The Lord Chancellor exercises (on his own behalf as well as on behalf of the Crown) the job of Visitor of many universities, colleges, schools, hospitals and other charitable organisations throughout the United Kingdom. He is responsible for resolving disputes, hearing appeals, etc. In some cases he appoints office-holders such as school governors, etc.

Judicial functions

The Lord Chancellor performs several different judicial roles. He may participate in judicial sessions of the House of Lords, and is a member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. (Former Lord Chancellors under the age of seventy-five years may do the same.) The Lord Chancellor is the President of the Supreme Court of Judicature, and therefore supervises the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the High Court of Justice of England and Wales and the Crown Court of England and Wales. He is also, ex officio, a judge in the Court of Appeal and the President of the Chancery Division. (Formerly, he was the chief judge of the High Court of Chancery, which was replaced by the Chancery Division in 1873.) The Lord Chancellor is not a member of the courts of either Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Modern Lord Chancellors have in practice exercised their judicial functions very sparingly. The convention has developed that Lord Chancellors do not sit as judge in a case which involves the Government; in addition, many cases, will be outside the expertise or interest of the Lord Chancellor of the day. His functions in relation to the House of Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are usually delegated to the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The task of presiding over the Chancery Division is delegated to the Vice-Chancellor, a senior judge.

The present Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, has announced that, pending the reform or abolition of the office, he will no longer sit as a judge. Nevertheless, he has taken the judicial oath, and it is often said that the most important job of the Lord Chancellor is to preserve the independence of the judiciary, and to argue for the judiciary in the Cabinet.

Ecclesiastical functions

The Lord Chancellor exercises some functions in relation to Royal peculiars—those churches and chapels which are not under the hierarchy of the Church of England but under direct royal control, such as Westminster Abbey. In addition he has the right to appoint clergymen in over 400 parishes and 12 cathedral canonries under the patronage of the Crown, e.g. within the old Diocese of Winchester. He exercises the same function in relation to livings under the patronage of the Duchy of Cornwall when the heir to the throne is a minor.

The Lord Chancellor is ex officio a Church Commissioner, a member of the body that controls Church lands. He also appoints 15 members of the Ecclesiastical committees in Parliament which consider measures of the General Synod of the Church of England before they are submitted for Royal Assent.

Reform of the Chancellorship

Nonetheless, since the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 the combined role of the Lord Chancellor as member of the executive and judiciary has increasingly become untenable. The previous Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg refused to rule out sitting as a judge, and it has been argued that the radical proposals that came with his replacement are partly due to his refusal to take this simple step.

In 2003 the Prime Minister appointed Lord Falconer of Thoroton as Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and announced his intention to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor, to create a separate Supreme Court and a separate speakership of the House of Lords. After much surprise and confusion it became clear that the ancient office of Lord Chancellor could not be abolished without parliamentary legislation. Lord Falconer duly appeared in the House of Lords the next working day in full-bottomed wig and breeches to preside as Lord Chancellor, as he is required to do by the Standing Orders of the House every day the House is sitting unless he has obtained a leave of absence.

The Lord Chancellor's Department has been renamed the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Although the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs remains Lord Chancellor, the present incumbent will not sit as a judge.

In March 2004 the House of Lords upset the Government's plans by sending its Constitutional Reform Bill to a select committee. Although initially seen as a move to kill the bill, agreement was reached between the Government and opposition parties in the Lords that the bill would be allowed to proceed through the parliamentary process, subject to any amendments made by the committee. Recent media reports suggest that while the Lords may consent to some reforms, including the Government's plans to create a supreme court to assume the judicial functions of the House of Lords, it is unlikely to assent to the outright abolition of the Lord Chancellorship. On July 13,2004, the House amended the Government's Constitutional Reform Bill to retain the name of the office (though retain most other intended reforms), prompting ministerial threats to reintroduce the Bill in the Commons, and to force it through under the Parliament Act.

External link: Reforming the office of Lord Chancellor (http://www.lcd.gov.uk/consult/lcoffice/index.htm)