Judicial Committee of the House of Lords





This is the full title of the highest court in English Law. Confusingly, the
'High Court' is more junior.

The judges are generally known as the Law Lords but their official title is
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The judges consist of senior judges from the
Court of Appeal and the High Court who have been appointed a life Peer for
the sole purpose of being a judge in the House of Lords. The twelve Lords of
Appeal in Ordinary are paid a salary to work full time on judicial business.
All members of the House of Lords who have served as senior judges,
including former Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and former Lord Chancellors,
are Lords of Appeal and can be called upon to help with judicial business
until they reach the age of 75.

The same judges (plus other judges from other Commonwealth countries) form
the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which is the final Court of
Appeals for other Commonwealth Countries such as Trinidad and was the court
of last resort in other British Empire countries as Canada and Australia
where some of the Privy Council judgments are still binding legal precedent.

The judges hear cases which are appealed from the Court of Appeal (both
civil and criminal). Generally a case must be of great importance, due to
its severity, complexity, level of money involved, public interest or other
factors, before the Lords will hear it. For example, the Lords were asked to
decide whether General Pinochet who was the former head of state of Chile
had state immunity from prosecution on torture charges when he was detained
in the United Kingdom.

The Law Lords are the highest court in England, but they have traditionally
had no power to declare laws invalid or unconstitutional, as do supreme
courts elsewhere, though the under British constitutional law principles
they could declare a law to be inoperable as being contrary to the laws of
the land. However, in common with every other court in the European Union
they have the power to refer points of law to the European Court of Justice
and as a result of such a case the Lords declared the Maritime Shipping Act
1990 unenforceable in part.

Generally three or five lords will hear a case, but in more serious matters
even more may be present — the Pinochet case had seven judges
participating in the judgment.

The senior judge is the Lord Chancellor who is also head of the House of
Lords and a minister in the government — it is powerful constitutional
position. Because of concerns relating to the modern doctrine of separation
of the powers, the Lord Chancellor traditionally does not sit in cases where
the government is a party to the action. The current Lord Chancellor, Lord
Falconer of Thoroton, has said he does not intend to sit as a judge at all.

The government has announced its intention to abolish the judicial functions
of the House of Lords and replace them with a separate Supreme Court.