Page "Lord Chancellor" Paragraph 35

In January 2004, the Department of Constitutional Affairs published a concordat, outlining the division of authority between Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice and which was intended as the basis of reform.

The Government introduced the Constitutional Reform Bill in the House of Lords in February 2004.

The Bill sought to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor, and to transfer his functions to other officials: legislative functions to a Speaker of the House of Lords, executive functions to the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and judicial functions to the Lord Chief Justice.

The Bill also made other constitutional reforms, such as transferring the judicial duties of the House of Lords to a Supreme Court.