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: the Lord Chief Justice, the
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and the
Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The Court of the King's (or Queen's) Bench had existed since 1234. In 1268 the first chief justice of the King's Bench was appointed. From the time of
Edward Coke in the early 17th century, the chief justice became known informally as "lord chief justice". It was only in 1875 that it became the statutory title. The three courts became divisions of the
High Court in 1875 (though the head of each court continued in post). Following the deaths of Lord Chief Justice
Sir Alexander Cockburn and Chief Baron
Sir Fitzroy Kelly in 1880, the three divisions were merged into a single division, with
Lord Coleridge, the last Chief Justice of Common Pleas, as
Lord Chief Justice of England. The suffix "and Wales", now found in statutes and elsewhere, was first appended to the title by
Lord Bingham of Cornhill in 1998.
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 The
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA) made the Lord Chief Justice the president of the Courts of England and Wales, vesting the office with many of the powers formerly held by the Lord Chancellor. While the Lord Chief Justice retains the role of President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal, the CRA separated the role of
President of the King's Bench Division; the changed chief justice role was first held by
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers. The CRA provides that the chief justice is chosen by a specially appointed committee convened by the
Judicial Appointments Commission.
Modification of title from Lord to Lady Upon the announcement of the appointment on 15 June 2023 of Dame Sue Carr, it was highly anticipated that the title would be modified from Lord to Lady, in line with Dame
Siobhan Keegan's 2021 appointment as
Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. This speculation was further confirmed in news closer to Carr's appointment, on 27 September 2023 that Carr had chosen the title of Lady Chief Justice. When Carr took office she was sworn as Lady Chief Justice, for the first time in the role's history since its inception. ==Roles and responsibilities==