King's Bench Division

Westminster Hall, meeting place of the Court of King's Bench (England) from 1215 until the King's Bench was abolished in England in 1875

In England and Wales, the Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench) was the name of two courts. Each was a senior court of common law, with civil and criminal jurisdiction, and a specific jurisdiction to restrain unlawful actions by public authorities.

The Court of King's Bench grew out of the King's Court, or Curia Regis, which, both in character and the essence of its jurisdiction, dates back to the reign of King Alfred. At first, it was not specifically a court of law, but was the centre of royal power and national administration in England, consisting of the King, together with his advisors, courtiers, and administrators. At an unknown point, another court, independent of the King's personal presence, grew out of the Curia Regis, and consisted of a number of royal judges who would hear cases themselves.

It was recorded in the chronicle of Abbot Benedict of Peterborough that, in 1178, Henry II ordered that five judges of his household should remain in Curia Regis, referring only difficult cases to himself. The situation seemed, thereafter, to be that a central royal court, called The Bench, began to sit regularly at Westminster, leading, at some stage, to a separation between the hearing of matters relevant to the King and those that had no royal connection, which came to be known as common pleas.

In 1215, the Magna Carta provided that there should be a court – the Common Bench (later Court of Common Pleas), which met in a fixed place – and, by 1234, two distinct series of plea rolls existed: de banco – those from the Common Bench – and coram rege (Latin for "in the presence of the King") – for those from the King's Bench. The King's Bench, being a theoretically movable court, was excluded from hearing common pleas, which included all praecipe actions for the recovery of property or debt. Actions of trespass and replevin were shared between the two benches. In practice pleas of the Crown were heard only in the King's Bench.

The King's Bench was divided into two parts: the Crown side, which had an unlimited criminal jurisdiction, both at first instance or as a court to which legal questions arising out of indictments in other courts could be referred; and the plea side, which dealt with actions of trespass, appeals of felony, and writs of error. The Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench was styled the Lord Chief Justice of England, being the highest permanent judge of the Crown.

The King's Bench became a fixed court sitting in Westminster Hall. Its justices travelled on circuit, a requirement of Magna Carta. By a legal fiction, criminal cases to be heard in the shires were set down for trial in Westminster Hall "unless before" (nisi prius) the justice came to the county, which was where the trial actually took place.

During the Commonwealth of England, from 1649 to 1660, the court was known as the Upper Bench.^[1]

The English Court of King's Bench was abolished in 1875 by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873. The Court's jurisdiction passed in each case to a new High Court of Justice and specifically to the King's Bench Division of that court.

The court gave its name to London's King's Bench Prison, in which many defendants were subsequently incarcerated, and to King's Bench Walk in the Inner Temple.

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  An illuminated initial membrane, with portrait of Elizabeth I, Court of King's Bench: Coram Rege Roll (Easter Term, 1584)

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Court of King's Bench (England)

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the curia regis, the King's Bench initially followed the monarch on his travels. The King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall in 1318, making its last travels in 1421. The King's Bench was merged into the High Court of Justice by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, after which point the King's Bench was a division within the High Court. The King's Bench was staffed by one Chief Justice and usually three Puisne Justices.

Common law

Common law

In law, common law is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions.

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfred was young. Three of Alfred's brothers, Æthelbald, Æthelberht and Æthelred, reigned in turn before him. Under Alfred's rule, considerable administrative and military reforms were introduced, prompting lasting change in England.

Henry II of England

Henry II of England

Henry II, also known as Henry Curtmantle, Henry FitzEmpress, and Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. At various points in his life, he controlled England, large parts of Wales, the eastern half of Ireland, and the western half of France, an area that was later called the Angevin Empire. At various times, Henry also held a strong influence over Scotland and the Duchy of Brittany.

Magna Carta

Magna Carta

Magna Carta Libertatum, commonly called Magna Carta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardinal Stephen Langton, to make peace between the unpopular king and a group of rebel barons, it promised the protection of church rights, protection for the barons from illegal imprisonment, access to swift justice, and limitations on feudal payments to the Crown, to be implemented through a council of 25 barons. Neither side stood behind their commitments, and the charter was annulled by Pope Innocent III, leading to the First Barons' War.

Court of Common Pleas (England)

Court of Common Pleas (England)

The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common Pleas served as one of the central English courts for around 600 years. Authorised by Magna Carta to sit in a fixed location, the Common Pleas sat in Westminster Hall for its entire existence, joined by the Exchequer of Pleas and Court of King's Bench.

Praecipe

Praecipe

Writs of praecipe are a widespread feature of the common law tradition, generally involving the instigation of some form of swift and peremptory action.

Replevin

Replevin

Replevin or claim and delivery is a legal remedy, which enables a person to recover personal property taken wrongfully or unlawfully, and to obtain compensation for resulting losses.

The Crown

The Crown

The crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions. The term can be used to refer to the office of the monarch or the monarchy as institutions, to the rule of law, or to the functions of executive, legislative, and judicial governance and the civil service.

Nisi prius

Nisi prius

Nisi prius is a historical term in English law. In the 19th century, it came to be used to denote generally all legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division and in the early twentieth century for actions tried at assize by a judge given a commission. Used in that way, the term has had no currency since the abolition of assizes in 1971.

Commonwealth of England

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of Charles I. The republic's existence was declared through "An Act declaring England to be a Commonwealth", adopted by the Rump Parliament on 19 May 1649. Power in the early Commonwealth was vested primarily in the Parliament and a Council of State. During the period, fighting continued, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, between the parliamentary forces and those opposed to them, in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish war of 1650–1652.

Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873

Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873

The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and also originally provided for the abolition of the judicial functions of the House of Lords with respect to England. It would have retained those functions in relation to Scotland and Ireland for the time being. However, the Gladstone Liberal government fell in 1874 before the Act entered into force, and the succeeding Disraeli Conservative government suspended the entry into force of the Act by means of the Supreme Court of Judicature (Commencement) Act 1874 and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1875.

Administrative Court

The Administrative Court deals mainly with administrative law matters and exercises the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction over inferior courts and tribunals and other public bodies.^[2] It is generally the appropriate legal forum where the validity, but, at least in principle, not the merits of official decisions may be challenged. Generally, unless specific appeal processes are provided, the validity of any decision of a minister of the crown, inferior court, tribunal, local authority or other official body may be challenged by a judge with sufficient interest through the exercise of judicial review. A single judge first decides whether the matter is fit to bring to the Court, to filter out frivolous or unarguable cases, and if so, the matter is allowed to go forward to a full judicial review hearing with one or more judges.

The Administrative Court may sit with a single judge or as a divisional court (i.e. with two or more judges). A divisional court of the Administrative Court usually consists of a Lord Justice of Appeal sitting with a judge of the High Court. Although the Administrative Court is within the King's Bench Division (reflecting the historical role of the Court of King's Bench in exercising judicial review), judges from the Chancery Division and the Family Division of the High Court are also assigned to sit.

Commercial Court

The Commercial Court is a major civil court in England and Wales that specialises on adjudicating domestic and international business disputes, with a particular emphasis on international trade, banking, insurance, and commodities.^[3][4]

History

The Commercial Court was set up in 1895 following demands from the City of London and the business community for a tribunal or court manned by judges with knowledge and experience of commercial disputes which could determine such disputes expeditiously and economically, thereby avoiding tediously long and expensive trials with verdicts given by judges or juries unfamiliar with business practices.

The commercial list was originally heard by two judges of the King's Bench Division with the appropriate knowledge and experience. As the work of the Court has expanded, eight judges now sit in the Court.^[5]

Function

The current work of the Commercial Court entails all aspects of commercial disputes, in the fields of banking and finance, disputes over contracts and business documents, import, export and transport, agency and management agreements, shipping, insurance and reinsurance, and commodities. The court is also the principal supervisory court for London arbitration, dealing with the granting of freezing and other relief in aid of arbitration, challenges to arbitration awards, and enforcement of awards. The Mercantile Court also can hear most of these cases.^[6]

It is also a major centre for international disputes. Over 70% of the court's workload involves foreign parties where the only connection with the jurisdiction is the choice of English and Welsh law in a contract.^[7]

Judges

Eight specialist judges sit in the Court at any one time. They are drawn from a list of those authorised due to their specialist knowledge and expertise.^[8] The current Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court is Dame Sara Cockerill.^[9]

Financial List

From October 2015, the Commercial Court and the Chancery Division have maintained the Financial List for cases which would benefit from being heard by judges with suitable expertise and experience in the financial markets or which raise issues of general importance to the financial markets. The procedure was introduced to enable fast, efficient and high quality dispute resolution of claims related to the financial markets.^[10]

Technology and Construction Court

The Civil Procedure Rules, which regulate civil procedure in the High Court, allocate non-exhaustive categories of work to the Technology and Construction Court (TCC), principally, as the name suggests, disputes in the areas of construction and technology.^[11]

However, since its formation in its current guise in October 1998, the court's jurisdiction has expanded such that many civil claims which are factually or technically complex are now heard in the TCC, beyond its traditional case load. For example, large-scale group personal injury claims are heard by the court, as are disputes arising out of the EU's public procurement regime.

The court's reputation has steadily grown over the years, such that it is now regarded as a highly capable and knowledgeable court. Its case load has dramatically increased since 1998, both in the form of traditional litigation and through assisted methods of alternative dispute resolution. In 2011, the court moved its central location from its aged buildings in Fetter Lane to the newly constructed £200m Rolls Building.^[12][13]

History

The court was known until 9 October 1998 as the Official Referees' Court, a name which reflected its old status as a tribunal with no jurisdiction per se, but which could report to judges on its findings.^[14] The new court, which was founded under the leadership of Mr Justice Dyson (later the Master of the Rolls), aimed to rid the perception this created that the court was not equal to others in the King's Bench Division. When opening the new court, Dyson said the new changes were "of real significance", and included technological advancements to aid the court's running, such as a centralised listing system.^[14]

With the introduction of the new Civil Procedure Rules on 26 April 1999 following Lord Woolf's report, the TCC's caseload dropped slightly as a result of the new Rules' focus on alternative dispute resolution. This meant fewer claims were issued: previously, claims had been issued as a matter of course as part of the negotiation process.^[15]

The proliferation of adjudication following its introduction in the Construction Act 1996 also led to fewer disputes going before the court, but did give the court a new role in enforcing adjudication decisions. The Construction Act gives parties to a "construction contract" a right to refer matters to adjudicators, with the aim of aiding cash flow in the construction sector by allowing disputes to be settled without the need for lengthy and costly court proceedings.^[16] Changes to the Construction Act 1996 brought in by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 are likely to see even more disputes referred to adjudication before reaching the TCC.^[17]

The Arbitration Act 1996 had a similar effect as adjudication. Such was the effect on the number of cases being brought before the TCC, extra capacity meant that TCC judges could act as judge-arbitrators, utilising their experience and knowledge while contributing to the CPR's goals in reducing litigation costs.^[15]

Jurisdiction

The TCC deals primarily with litigation of disputes arising in the field of technology and construction. It includes building, engineering and technology disputes, professional negligence claims and IT disputes as well as enforcement of adjudication decisions and challenges to arbitrators’ decisions. The TCC also regularly deals with allegations of lawyers’ negligence arising in connection with planning, property, construction and other technical disputes.^[18]

The work of the TCC often involves both complex legal argument and heavyweight technical issues, and as a result TCC judges try some of the most arduous and complex disputes that come before the civil courts. The sums at issue can be large, often involving millions of pounds, although there is in theory at least no minimum sum to be claimed (as, under the CPR, the court has wide powers to assert jurisdiction over claims it feels are appropriate). Cases can last several days and involve mountains of paperwork and expert evidence.^[19]

Court locations

TCC cases are managed and heard by specialist judges in London and at centres throughout England and Wales. The cases are allocated either to High Court judges, senior circuit judges, circuit judges or recorders both in London and at regional centres outside London. Since its inception, the court has been led by several judges-in-charge, a role filled by a number of pre-eminent judges in the field of construction law: Lord Dyson, Sir John Thayne Forbes, Sir Rupert Jackson, Sir Vivian Ramsey, Mr Justice Akenhead (2010 to 2013), Sir Antony Edwards-Stuart (2013 to 2016), Sir Peter Coulson (2016 to 2018), Sir Peter Fraser (2018 to 2020) and Dame Finola O'Farrell (2020 to present).^[20] As at 2019, the court has seven full-time High Court judges.^[21]

In April 2011, the court moved its central location from its aged building in Fetter Lane (now replaced by a block of plush apartments) to a purpose-built block less than 100 yards away on Fetter Lane, the Rolls Building, not far from the Royal Court of Justice in London. The court shares the building with other divisional courts of the King's Bench and Chancery Divisions. As well as its London location, where most cases (including those with an international element) are heard after being started or transferred there, claims can be issued and heard at any of the following regional court centres:

• Birmingham (full-time TCC judge available)
• Bristol
• Cardiff
• Chester
• Exeter
• Leeds
• Liverpool (full-time TCC judge available)
• Manchester (full-time TCC judge available)
• Newcastle
• Nottingham

TCC authorised judges are also available at Leicester, Sheffield and Southampton, although claims cannot be issued there.^[22]

Admiralty Court

England's admiralty courts date to at least the 1360s, during the reign of Edward III. At that time there were three such courts, appointed by admirals responsible for waters to the north, south and west of England. In 1483 these local courts were amalgamated into a single High Court of Admiralty, administered by the Lord High Admiral of England.^[23] The Lord High Admiral directly appointed judges to the court, and could remove them at will. This was amended from 1673, with appointments falling within the purview of the Crown,^[24][c] and from 1689 judges also received an annual stipend and a degree of tenure, holding their positions subject to effective delivery of their duties rather than at the Lord High Admiral's pleasure.^[24]

From its inception in 1483 until 1657 the court sat in a disused church in Southwark, and from then until 1665 in Montjoy House, private premises leased from the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral. In order to escape the Great Plague of London in 1665, the court was briefly relocated to Winchester and then to Jesus College at Oxford University. The plague threat having subsided by 1666, the court returned to London and until 1671 was located at Exeter House on The Strand before returning to Montjoy House near St Paul's.^[26]

During the period after the French and Indian War, admiralty courts became an issue that was a part of the rising tension between the British Parliament and their American Colonies. Starting with the Proclamation of 1763, these courts were given jurisdiction over a number of laws affecting the colonies. The jurisdiction was expanded in later acts of the Parliament, such as the Stamp Act of 1765.

The colonists' objections were based on several factors. The courts could try a case anywhere in the British Empire. Cases involving New York or Boston merchants were frequently heard in Nova Scotia and sometimes even in England. The fact that judges were paid based in part on the fines that they levied and naval officers were paid for bringing "successful" cases led to abuses. There was no trial by jury, and evidence standards were lower than in criminal courts, the latter requiring proof "beyond reasonable doubt". The government's objective was to improve the effectiveness of revenue and excise tax laws. In many past instances, smugglers would avoid taxes. Even when they were caught and brought to trial, local judges frequently acquitted the popular local merchants whom they perceived as being unfairly accused by an unpopular tax collector.

In 1875, the High Court of Admiralty governing England and Wales was absorbed into the new Probate, Divorce and Admiralty (or PDA) Division of the High Court. When the PDA Division was in turn abolished and replaced by the Family Division, the "probate" and "admiralty" jurisdictions were transferred to, respectively, the Chancery Division and to the new "Admiralty Court", a subset of the King's Bench Division of the High Court. Strictly speaking, there was no longer an "Admiralty Court" as such, but the admiralty jurisdiction allocated by the Senior Courts Act 1981 was (and is) exercised by the Admiralty Judge and other Commercial Court judges authorized to sit in admiralty cases. When these judges sat, it became convenient to call the sitting the "Admiralty Court".

In England and Wales today, admiralty jurisdiction is exercised by the High Court of Justice in England (EWHC). Admiralty law applied in this court is based upon the civil law-based Law of the Sea, with statutory law and common law additions. The Admiralty Court is no longer in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, having moved to the Rolls Building.

Discover more about Subdivisions related topics

Administrative law

Administrative law

Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making, adjudication, and the enforcement of laws. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law.

Divisional court (England and Wales)

Divisional court (England and Wales)

A divisional court, in relation to the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, means a court sitting with at least two judges. Matters heard by a divisional court include some criminal cases in the High Court as well as certain judicial review cases. Although often referred to in practice as the Divisional Court, a divisional court is in fact not a separate court or division of the High Court but essentially refers to the number of judges sitting. Usually a divisional court sits with two judges but occasionally the bench comprises three judges.

High Court judge (England and Wales)

High Court judge (England and Wales)

A Justice of the High Court, commonly known as a ‘High Court judge’, is a judge of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges. High Court Judges wear red and black robes.

Court of King's Bench (England)

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the curia regis, the King's Bench initially followed the monarch on his travels. The King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall in 1318, making its last travels in 1421. The King's Bench was merged into the High Court of Justice by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, after which point the King's Bench was a division within the High Court. The King's Bench was staffed by one Chief Justice and usually three Puisne Justices.

Civil law (common law)

Civil law (common law)

Civil law is a major branch of the law. In common law legal systems such as England and Wales and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law. The law relating to civil wrongs and quasi-contracts is part of the civil law, as is law of property. Civil law may, like criminal law, be divided into substantive law and procedural law. The rights and duties of persons amongst themselves is the primary concern of civil law.

England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law.

International trade

International trade

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services.

Insurance

Insurance

Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent or uncertain loss.

Commodity market

Commodity market

A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products, such as cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, and options on futures. Farmers have used a simple form of derivative trading in the commodity market for centuries for price risk management.

City of London

City of London

The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages, but the modern area named London has since grown far beyond the City of London boundary. The City is now only a small part of the metropolis of Greater London, though it remains a notable part of central London. Administratively, the City of London is not one of the London boroughs, a status reserved for the other 32 districts. It is also a separate ceremonial county, being an enclave surrounded by Greater London, and is the smallest ceremonial county in the United Kingdom.

Import

Import

An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade.

Export

Export

An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an exporter; the foreign buyers is an importer. Services that figure in international trade include financial, accounting and other professional services, tourism, education as well as intellectual property rights.

President

Until 2005, the head of the Division was the Lord Chief Justice. The post of president of the King's Bench Division was created by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, leaving the Lord Chief Justice as president of the Courts of England and Wales, head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and head of Criminal Justice.^[27] Sir Igor Judge was the first person to hold this office, appointed in October 2005.^[27][28]

List of presidents

• 3 October 2005: Sir Igor Judge^[29]
• 1 October 2008: Sir Anthony May^[30]
• 3 October 2011: Sir John Thomas^[31]
• 1 October 2013: Sir Brian Leveson^[32]
• 23 June 2019: Dame Victoria Sharp^[33]

Vice-President

The office of Vice-President of the King's Bench Division predates the separation of the division's presidency from the office of Lord Chief Justice. In 1988, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, made arrangements for Sir Tasker Watkins, a Lord Justice of Appeal, to be Deputy Chief Justice, deputising across the range of Lane's responsibilities. The arrangement continued under Lane's successor. When Watkins retired in 1993, Lord Taylor of Gosforth appointed Sir Paul Kennedy of the Court of Appeal to oversee the Queen's Bench Division.^[34][35]

Lord Bingham of Cornhill, who took over as Lord Chief Justice in 1996, made arrangements with Lord Mackay of Clashfern (Lord Chancellor under John Major) whereby Lord Justice Kennedy would become Vice-President of the Queen's Bench Division, with the understanding that it would be made a statutory office at an early date. Lord Bingham made the appointment in 1997. Lord Mackay's Labour successor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, honoured the commitment in the Access to Justice Act 1999.^[36][37]

List of vice-presidents

• 1997: Sir Paul Kennedy^[38]
• February 2002: Sir Anthony May^[39][40]
• October 2008: Sir John Thomas^[41]
• 3 October 2011: Dame Heather Hallett^[42]
• 4 March 2014: Sir Nigel Davis^[43]
• 1 January 2016 Dame Victoria Sharp^[44]
• 5 February 2020 Sir James Dingemans^[45]

Discover more about Leadership related topics

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and the President of the Courts of England and Wales.

Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Constitutional Reform Act 2005

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of the House of Lords and Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales from the office of Lord Chancellor.

Courts of England and Wales

Courts of England and Wales

The courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.

Igor Judge, Baron Judge

Igor Judge, Baron Judge

Igor Judge, Baron Judge, is an English former judge who served as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the head of the judiciary, from 2008 to 2013. He was previously President of the Queen's Bench Division, at the time a newly created post assuming responsibilities transferred from the office of Lord Chief Justice. In 2019, he became Convenor of the Crossbench peers in the House of Lords.

Anthony May (judge)

Anthony May (judge)

Sir Anthony Tristram Kenneth May PC is a British judge.

Brian Leveson

Brian Leveson

Sir Brian Henry Leveson is a retired English judge who served as the President of the Queen's Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice.

Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane

Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane

Geoffrey Dawson Lane, Baron Lane, was a British Judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1980 to 1992. The later part of his term was marred by a succession of disputed convictions. Lane's critics claimed that his refusal to believe that police evidence could be institutionally corrupt, and his reluctance to overturn the verdict of a jury, "represented a dangerous hindrance to justice". His failure to allow the appeal of the Birmingham Six in 1988 led to calls for his resignation following their successful appeal in 1991; an editorial in The Times "urged him to go", while 140 members of parliament signed a House of Commons motion to that effect.

Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth

Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth

Peter Murray Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, was the Lord Chief Justice of England from 1992 until 1996.

Paul Kennedy (English judge)

Paul Kennedy (English judge)

Sir Paul Joseph Morrow Kennedy is an English jurist. He is a former vice-president of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, and former Interception of Communications Commissioner.

James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern

James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern

James Peter Hymers Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, is a British advocate. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Lord Advocate, and Lord Chancellor (1987–1997). He is a former active member of the House of Lords, where he sat as a Conservative. He retired from the House on 22 July 2022.

Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The lord chancellor is appointed by the sovereign on the advice of the prime minister. Prior to their Union into the Kingdom of Great Britain, there were separate lord chancellors for the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland; there were lord chancellors of Ireland until 1922.

John Major

John Major

Sir John Major is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from November 1990 to May 1997 and Leader of the Conservative Party from November 1990 to June 1997. He previously held Cabinet positions under prime minister Margaret Thatcher, lastly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1989 to 1990. Major was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Huntingdonshire, from 1979 to 2001. Since stepping down as an MP in 2001, Major has focused on writing and his business, sporting and charity work, and has occasionally commented on political developments in the role of an elder statesman.