Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

The Judiciary of England and Wales
Incumbent
The Lord Judge, PC, QC
since 1 October 2008
Style The Right Honourable
Nominator Judicial Appointments Commission
Appointer UK Monarch on recommendation of Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor, who are in turn given recommendations by a selection panel.
Inaugural holder Sir Alexander Cockburn
Formation 1 November 1875
Website The Judiciary of England and Wales
This article is part of the series: Courts of England and Wales
Law of England and Wales

The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which removed the judicial functions from the office of Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chief Justice is also the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. The first Lord Chief Justice to act as head of the judiciary after the Lord Chancellor relinquished that role was Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers.

Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lord Chief Justice is chosen by a specially appointed committee, convened by the Judicial Appointments Commission. The current Lord Chief Justice is Lord Judge, who took over the role on 1 October 2008 following the promotion of Lord Phillips to the position of Senior Law Lord. In Lord Judge's case, Judge is his family's coincidental surname, not an affectation or title.

Until the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 came into force on 3 April 2006, the Lord Chief Justice was also the head of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. There is now a separate post of President of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, currently held by Sir John Thomas.

Originally, each of the three high common law courts – the King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of the Exchequer – had its own chief justice. That of the Exchequer Court was styled as the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and that of the Common Pleas was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, leaving the head of the King's (or Queen's) Bench to be known simply as the Lord Chief Justice. Although the Court of the King's (or Queen's) Bench had existed since 1234, the title of chief justice was not used until 1268. In the intermediary period, one of the justices would be considered the senior judge, and hold a position similar to that later held by the chief justice. The courts, however, were combined in 1875, creating a single Lord Chief Justice of England.

The suffix "and Wales", now found in statutes and elsewhere, was unilaterally appended by Lord Bingham between 1996 and 2000. There is also a Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. The Lord Chief Justice's equivalent in Scotland is the Lord President of the Court of Session, who also holds the post of Lord Justice-General in the High Court of Justiciary.

Contents

Chief Justices, King's (Queen's) Bench, to 1875

Chief Justices, King's (Queen's) Bench day, month from day, month till remarks
William de Raley 1234 1239
Sir Stephen de Segrave 1239 1241
William of York 1241 1247
Henry of Bath 1249 1251
Sir Gilbert of Seagrave 1251 1253
Henry of Bath 1253 1260
Sir William of Wilton 1261 1263
Nicholas de Turri 1265 1267
Sir Robert I of Scotland 1268 6 November 1269
Richard of Staines 6 November 1269 1273
Martin of Littlebury 1273 1274
Ralph de Hengham 1274 1290
Gilbert de Thornton 1290 1296
Sir Roger le Brabazon 1296 March 1316
Sir William Inge (judge) March 1316 15 June 1317
Sir Henry le Scrope 15 June 1317 September 1323
Hervey de Stanton September 1323 21 March 1324
Sir Geoffrey le Scrope 21 March 1324 1 May 1329
Sir Robert de Malberthorp 1 May 1329 28 October 1329
Sir Henry le Scrope 28 October 1329 19 December 1330
Sir Geoffrey le Scrope 19 December 1330 28 March 1332
Sir Richard de Willoughby 28 March 1332 20 September 1332
Sir Geoffrey le Scrope 20 September 1332 10 September 1333
Sir Richard de Willoughby 10 September 1333 1337
Sir Geoffrey le Scrope 1337 October 1338
Sir Richard de Willoughby October 1338 21 July 1340
Sir Robert Parning 21 July 1340 8 January 1341
Sir William Scott 8 January 1341 26 November 1346
Sir William de Thorpe 26 November 1346 26 October 1350
Sir William de Shareshull 26 October 1350 24 May 1361
Sir Henry Green 24 May 1361 29 October 1365
Sir John Knyvet 29 October 1365 15 July 1372
Sir John de Cavendish 15 July 1372 14 June 1381 murdered in the Peasants' Revolt)
Sir Robert Tresilian 22 June 1381 31 January 1388
Sir Walter de Cloptone 31 January 1388 15 November 1400
Sir William Gascoigne 15 November 1400 29 March 1413
Sir William Hankeford 29 March 1413 21 January 1424
Sir William Cheyne 21 January 1424 20 January 1439
Sir John Juyn 20 January 1439 13 April 1440
Sir John Hody 13 April 1440 25 January 1442
Sir John Fortescue 25 January 1442 13 May 1461
Sir John Markham 13 May 1461 23 January 1469
Sir Thomas Billing 23 January 1469 7 May 1481
Sir William Hussey 7 May 1481 24 November 1495
Sir John Fineux 24 November 1495 23 January 1526
Sir John Fitz-James 23 January 1526 21 January 1539
Sir Edward Montagu 21 January 1539 9 November 1545
Sir Richard Lyster 9 November 1545 21 March 1552
Sir Roger Cholmeley 21 March 1552 4 October 1553
Sir Thomas Bromley 4 October 1553 11 June 1555
Sir William Portman 11 June 1555 8 May 1557
Sir Edward Saunders 8 May 1557 22 January 1559
Sir Robert Catlyn 22 January 1559 8 November 1574
Sir Christopher Wray 8 November 1574 2 June 1592
Sir John Popham 2 June 1592 25 June 1607
Sir Thomas Fleming 25 June 1607 25 October 1613
Sir Edward Coke 25 October 1613 16 November 1616
Sir Henry Montagu 16 November 1616 29 January 1621
Sir James Ley 29 January 1621 26 January 1625
Sir Ranulph Crewe 26 January 1625 5 February 1627
Sir Nicholas Hyde 5 February 1627 24 October 1631
Sir Thomas Richardson 24 October 1631 4 February 1635 died in office
Sir John Brampston 14 April 1635 31 October 1642
Sir Robert Heath 31 October 1642 October 1645
Sir Henry Rolle 12 October 1648 15 June 1655
John Glynne 15 June 1655 17 January 1660
Sir Richard Newdigate 17 January 1660 1 October 1660
Sir Robert Foster 1 October 1660 19 October 1663
Sir Robert Hyde 19 October 1663 21 November 1665
Sir John Kelynge 21 November 1665 18 May 1671
Sir Matthew Hale 18 May 1671 12 April 1676
Sir Richard Raynsford 12 April 1676 31 May 1678
Sir William Scroggs 31 May 1678 11 April 1681
Sir Francis Pemberton 11 April 1681 28 September 1683
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys 28 September 1683 23 October 1685
Sir Edward Herbert 23 October 1685 22 April 1687
Sir Robert Wright 22 April 1687 17 April 1689
Sir John Holt 17 April 1689 5 March 1710
Thomas Parker, 1st Baron Parker 11 March 1710 15 May 1718
Sir John Pratt 15 May 1718 2 March 1725
Sir Robert Raymond 2 March 1725 31 October 1733
Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke 31 October 1733 8 June 1737
Sir William Lee 8 June 1737 2 May 1754
Sir Dudley Ryder 2 May 1754 8 November 1756
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield 8 November 1756 4 June 1788 Earl of Mansfield from 1776
Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baron Kenyon 4 June 1788 11 April 1802
Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough 11 April 1802 2 November 1818
Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden 2 November 1818 4 November 1832
Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman 4 November 1832 5 March 1850
John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell of St Andrews 5 March 1850 24 June 1859
Sir Alexander Cockburn, 12th Baronet 24 June 1859 1 November 1875

Lords Chief Justice of England (later England and Wales), 1875–present

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