9th Report - The roles of the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers
- HC No.
- —
- Published
- 18 Jan 2023
- Items
- 0
- Response
- Response document linked Read government response ↗
Select Committee · Constitution Committee
Role of the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers
Status: Closed
Opened: 18 Feb 2022
Closed: 20 Jul 2023
1 report
Inquiry scope
The Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers (the Attorney General, Solicitor General and Advocate General for Scotland) are Government ministers with particular constitutional and legal responsibilities (notably, in upholding the rule of law). This inquiry will focus on how these roles currently operate and how they have evolved since the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which fundamentally altered the role of the Lord Chancellor. In particular it will examine the extent to which office holders are able to remain impartial given their position in the executive branch of Government, and whether their ability to uphold the rule of law and defend the independence of the judiciary is affected.Reports
Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep 2022 | The Rt Hon Jack Straw · Foreign and Commonwealth Office | View ↗ |
| 6 Jul 2022 | The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC · Attorney General's Office, The Rt Hon. the Lord Garnier KC · Attorney General's Office | View ↗ |
| 22 Jun 2022 | The Rt Hon David Gauke · Independent Sentencing Review, The Rt Hon. the Lord Clarke of Nottingham CH KC · Ministry of Justice | View ↗ |
| 8 Jun 2022 | The Rt Hon. the Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT · Lord Chancellor's Department | View ↗ |
| 25 May 2022 | The Rt Hon. the Lord Judge · Judiciary of England and Wales, The Rt Hon. the Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd · Judiciary of England and Wales | View ↗ |
| 27 Apr 2022 | The Rt Hon. the Lord Keen of Elie KC · Office of the Advocate General for Scotland | View ↗ |
| 23 Mar 2022 | Sir Jonathan Jones QC (Hon) · Linklaters LLP, Sir Richard Heaton · Ministry of Justice | View ↗ |
| 16 Mar 2022 | Dr Conor Casey · School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, Dr Conor McCormick · School of Law, Queen's University Belfast | View ↗ |
| 9 Mar 2022 | Dr Patrick O'Brien · School of Law, Oxford Brookes University, Professor Graham Gee · School of Law, University of Sheffield | View ↗ |
Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Conor Casey · Assistant Professor of Public Law | School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool | 1 |
| Dr Conor McCormick · Lecturer and Director of the Human Rights Centre | School of Law, Queen's University Belfast | 1 |
| Dr Patrick O'Brien · Senior Lecturer in Law | School of Law, Oxford Brookes University | 1 |
| Professor Graham Gee · Head of School and Professor of Public Law | School of Law, University of Sheffield | 1 |
| Sir Jonathan Jones QC (Hon) · Senior Consultant on Public and Constitutional Law | Linklaters LLP | 1 |
| Sir Richard Heaton · Permanent Secretary | Ministry of Justice | 1 |
| The Rt Hon David Gauke · Chair | Independent Sentencing Review | 1 |
| The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC · former Attorney General for England and Wales, and Advocate General for Northern Ireland (2010-14) | Attorney General's Office | 1 |
| The Rt Hon Jack Straw · Former Foreign Secretary | Foreign and Commonwealth Office | 1 |
| The Rt Hon. the Lord Clarke of Nottingham CH KC · former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (2010-12) | Ministry of Justice | 1 |
| The Rt Hon. the Lord Garnier KC · former Solicitor General for England and Wales (2010-12) | Attorney General's Office | 1 |
| The Rt Hon. the Lord Judge · former Lord Chief Justice and Head (2008-13) | Judiciary of England and Wales | 1 |
| The Rt Hon. the Lord Keen of Elie KC · former Advocate General of Scotland (2015-20) | Office of the Advocate General for Scotland | 1 |
| The Rt Hon. the Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT · former Lord Chancellor (1987-97) | Lord Chancellor's Department | 1 |
| The Rt Hon. the Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd · former Lord Chief Justice and Head (2013-17) | Judiciary of England and Wales | 1 |