Chancellor of the High Court
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The Chancellor of the High Court is the head of the
From 1813 to 1841, the solitary and from 1841 to 1875, the three
Certain 1870s to 1899 Acts (the Judicature Acts) merged the courts of law and those of equity and enacted a halt to the position of vice-chancellor – which lasted from 1875 until 1971.
From 1971 until October 2005,[1] the revived high judicial office was called the Vice-Chancellorship (and the judge bore the title Vice-Chancellor). The holder nominally acted as the Lord Chancellor's deputy in the English legal system and as head of the Chancery Division. The key duties of this judge have not changed in substance since 1971.
Ireland
An equivalent position existed in Ireland between 1867 and 1904 (Vice-Chancellor of Ireland) when the office was abolished. Throughout that period it was held by Hedges Eyre Chatterton (who was born in Cork and died in 1910 aged 91).
Vice-chancellors, 1813–1875
Because of an increase in caseload in the
After the Judicature Acts, which merged the Court of Chancery and various other courts into the new High Court of Justice, came into force, new vice-chancellors were not appointed: new judges of the Chancery Division became styled "Mr. Justice ..." like other High Court judges (adopting the style of the pre-merger common law courts).
- 10 April 1813: Sir Thomas Plumer[3]
- 17 January 1818: Sir John Leach[4]
- 2 May 1827: Sir Anthony Hart[5]
- 31 October 1827: Sir Lancelot Shadwell[6]
- 28 October 1841 – 1851: Sir James Lewis Knight-Bruce[7]
- 28 October 1841 – 1850: Sir James Wigram[7]
- 2 November 1850 – 1851: Sir
- 2 April 1851 – 1853: Sir George Turner[10]
- 20 October 1851 – 1866: Sir Richard Torin Kindersley[11]
- 20 October 1851 – 1852: Sir James Parker[11]
- 20 September 1852 – 1871: Sir John Stuart[12]
- 10 January 1853 – 1868: Sir William Wood[13]
- 1 December 1866 – 1881: Sir Richard Malins[14]
- 13 March 1868 – 1869: Sir George Markham Giffard[15]
- 2 January 1869 – 1870: Sir William Milbourne James[16]
- 4 July 1870 – 1886: Sir James Bacon[17]
- 18 April 1871 – 1873: Sir John Wickens[18]
- 11 November 1873 – 1882: Sir Charles Hall[19]
Vice-chancellors, 1971–2005
A new judicial post of Vice-Chancellor (its last holder having been that of 1882) was created by section 5 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, which came into effect on 1 October 1971. Under its provisions the Vice-Chancellor was appointed by the Lord Chancellor (president of the Chancery Division). He became responsible to the latter for administering the division.[20] The Senior Courts Act 1981 made the position one appointed by the Queen (like the President of the Family Division)[21] and made the Vice-Chancellor vice-president of the Chancery Division.[22]
- 1971: Sir John Pennycuick
- 1974: Sir Anthony Plowman[23]
- 1976: Sir Robert Megarry
- 3 June 1985: Sir Nicolas Browne-Wilkinson[24]
- 1 October 1991: Sir Donald Nicholls[25]
- 3 October 1994: Sir Richard Scott[26]
- 17 July 2000: Sir Andrew Morritt[27] (Chancellor of the High Court after the relevant provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 came into effect on 1 October 2005.)
Chancellor of the High Court, 2005–present
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 removed the Lord Chancellor's role as a judge. As one of the judicial roles of the office was president of the Chancery Division, the office of Vice-Chancellor was renamed Chancellor of the High Court and replaced the Lord Chancellor. The name change took effect on 1 October 2005,[28] but some of the responsibilities (including the presidency of the division) did not transfer until 3 April 2006.[29]
- 1 October 2005: Sir Andrew Morritt (Vice-Chancellor before the relevant provisions of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 came into effect on 1 October 2005.)
- 11 January 2013: Sir Terence Etherton[30]
- 24 October 2016: Sir Geoffrey Vos[31]
- 3 February 2021: Sir Julian Flaux
See also
- Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- Master of the Rolls
- President of the Queen's Bench Division
- President of the Family Division
References
- ^ when relevant parts of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 took effect
- ^ Section 52 of the Master in Chancery Abolition Act 1852.
- ^ "No. 16718". The London Gazette. 6–10 April 1813. p. 699.
- ^ "No. 17324". The London Gazette. 20 January 1818. p. 147.
- ^ "No. 18358". The London Gazette. 4 May 1827. p. 985.
- ^ "No. 18410". The London Gazette. 2 November 1827. p. 2250.
- ^ a b "No. 20032". The London Gazette. 29 October 1841. p. 2652.
- ^ "No. 21150". The London Gazette. 5 November 1850. p. 2883.
- ^ "No. 21162". The London Gazette. 13 December 1850. p. 3388.
- ^ "No. 21197". The London Gazette. 4 April 1851. p. 917.
- ^ a b "No. 21255". The London Gazette. 20 October 1851. p. 2751.
- ^ "No. 21360". The London Gazette. 21 September 1852. p. 2527.
- ^ "No. 21401". The London Gazette. 11 January 1853. p. 72.
- ^ "No. 23194". The London Gazette. 4 December 1866. p. 6757.
- ^ "No. 23361". The London Gazette. 11 March 1868. p. 1647.
- ^ "No. 23456". The London Gazette. 5 January 1869. p. 49.
- ^ "No. 23631". The London Gazette. 5 July 1870. p. 3265.
- ^ "No. 23729". The London Gazette. 18 April 1871. p. 1922.
- ^ "No. 24033". The London Gazette. 11 November 1873. p. 4901.
- ^ Administration of Justice Act 1970, c. 31 s. 5. (as enacted).
- ^ Senior Courts Act 1981, c. 54 s. 10. (as enacted).
- ^ Senior Courts Act 1981, s. 5. (as enacted).
- ^ Who's Who 1986
- ^ "No. 50145". The London Gazette. 6 June 1985. p. 7817.
- ^ "No. 52677". The London Gazette. 4 October 1991. p. 15091.
- ^ "No. 53811". The London Gazette. 6 October 1994. p. 14001.
- ^ "No. 55920". The London Gazette. 21 July 2000. p. 8033.
- ^ Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (Commencement No. 3) Order 2005, SI 2005/2505 art 2.
- ^ Constitutional Reform Act (Commencement No. 5 Order) 2006, SI 2006/1014 sch 1.
- ^ "No. 60392". The London Gazette. 15 January 2012. p. 674.
- ^ "No. 61745". The London Gazette. 28 October 2016. p. 22900.
- A History of English Law, Vol. I, by Sir William Holdsworth(Methuen & Co, 1961 reprint)
- Twentieth-Century British Political Facts 1900–2000, by David Butler and Gareth Butler (Macmillan Press 2000)
- Joseph Haydn, The Book of Dignities, 1894
External links
- New legal year sees new team take up posts[permanent dead link] Department for Constitutional Affairs press release, 3 October 2005)
- Lists of Judges from the Department for Constitutional Affairs