Legal background an advantage to Lord Chancellor, peers conclude
it is not essential, on balance, for the Lord Chancellor to be a qualified lawyer, but a legal or constitutional background is a distinct advantage, according to a report published today by a House of Lords committee.
In its report on the office of the Lord Chancellor, the Constitution Committee also states that the Lord Chancellor’s duty to respect the rule of law requires him or her to seek to uphold judicial independence and the rule of law across Government. It recommends that the Lord Chancellor’s oath of office be amended to reflect this duty both to respect and uphold the rule of law. "Carrying out this duty has, however, become more difficult for post-reform Lord Chancellors and more directly dependent on the personal authority and attitude of the individual holding the office", the report states.
The report also calls on the Government to agree formally that the rule of law goes beyond judicial independence and compliance with domestic and international law, and that it includes the tenet that Government should seek to govern in accordance with constitutional principles.
It further points out that neither the Deputy Prime Minister nor the Lord Chancellor are members of the Devolution Committee looking at further devolution of powers within the United Kingdom – an issue with clear constitutional implications, and proposes that the Lord Chancellor be identified as the cabinet minister responsible for oversight of the constitution. Concern is expressed that there is at present "no clear focus within Government for oversight of the constitution".
The committee recognises that the combination of the office of Lord Chancellor with that of the Secretary of State for Justice could create the risk of a conflict of interest, but believes that the conflicting priorities can be managed, and that the combination of the roles also gives the Lord Chancellor additional authority with which to uphold the rule of law in Government.
Regarding legal qualification, the report goes on to state that when, as at present, neither the Lord Chancellor nor the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice is legally qualified, the department’s top legal adviser should be appointed at permanent secretary level.
Committee chairman Lord Lang of Monkton, the former Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Lang, commented: “The Lord Chancellor has a key duty to ensure that we are governed according to the rule of law and in accordance with certain established and fundamental principles.
“We are concerned that there is currently no one in Government tasked with a clear responsibility for overseeing the operation of the constitution. We feel that a senior cabinet minister should have this responsibility; in our view most appropriately the Lord Chancellor. We were surprised that neither the Deputy Prime Minister, who has had responsibility for specific constitutional reforms, nor the Lord Chancellor, sit on the new Devolution Committee, which considers matters relating to the devolution of powers within the United Kingdom."