Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland

Head of the judiciary of Northern Ireland

Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland

an Tiarna Príomh-Bhreitheamh Thuaisceart Éireann (Irish)

Incumbent
Dame Siobhan Keegan

since 2 September 2021

Judiciary of Northern Ireland
Style| The Right Honourable
Nominator| Prime Minister, following consultation with the Lord Chief Justice and the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission
Appointer| Monarch
Term length| During good behaviour
subject to mandatory retirement at 75
Constituting instrument| Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978
Precursor| Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
Inaugural holder| Sir Denis Henry, Bt
Formation| 1922
Deputy| the senior available Lord Justice of Appeal
Salary| £238,868
Website| www.judiciaryni.uk

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland[1][2] is a judge who presides over the courts of Northern Ireland and is the head of the Northern Irish judiciary.[3] The present Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is Dame Siobhan Keegan.[4] Her counterpart in England and Wales is the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and in Scotland her equivalent is the Lord President of the Court of Session. The position was established with the creation of Northern Ireland in 1922, and was preceded by the position of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland prior to the partition of Ireland.

## Background

[edit]

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland holds the office of President of the courts of Northern Ireland and is head of the judiciary of Northern Ireland.[5]

The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for representing the views of the judiciary of Northern Ireland to government, for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary of Northern Ireland, and for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the deployment of the judiciary of Northern Ireland and the allocation of work within courts.[5]

The Lord Chief Justice is president of the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Crown Court, the county courts and the magistrates' courts of Northern Ireland.[1] The Lord Chief Justice is entitled to sit on any of those courts, but routinely sits on the Court of Appeal.[5]

## Lord chief justices of Northern Ireland

[edit]

* The Rt Hon. Sir Denis Henry, Bt, (1922–1925)[6]
* The Rt Hon. Sir William Moore, Bt (1925–1937; created a Baronet in 1932)[6]
* The Rt Hon. Sir James Andrews, Bt (1937–1951)[6]
* The Rt Hon. The Lord MacDermott (1951–1971)[6]
* Major The Rt Hon. The Lord Lowry (1971–1989)
* The Rt Hon. Sir Brian Hutton (1989–1997)
* The Rt Hon. Sir Robert Carswell (1997–2004)
* The Rt Hon. Sir Brian Kerr (2004–2009)
* The Rt Hon. Sir Declan Morgan (2009–2021)
* The Rt Hon. Dame Siobhan Keegan (2021–)

## See also

[edit]

* Lord Chief Justice of Ireland
* Lord Chief Justice of Southern Ireland
* Chief Justice of Ireland
* List of lords justices of appeal of Northern Ireland
* List of High Court judges of Northern Ireland

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002".
2. ^ "Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002".
3. ^ Judiciary and courts in Northern Ireland, legislation.gov.uk; accessed 28 December 2015.
4. ^ "Judiciary of Northern Ireland".
5. ^ a b c Justice (Northern Ireland) Act, 2002, section 12
6. ^ a b c d Walker, David M., The Oxford Companion to Law, Appendix I, list of Lord Chief Justices of Northern Ireland, 1922–, p. 1354.

## Sources

[edit]

* N.C. Fleming and Alan O'Day, The Longman Handbook of Modern Irish History since 1800, N.C. Fleming and Alan O'Day, p. 420; ISBN 0-582-08102-5

* v
* t
* e

Chief justices of the territories of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend
Current territory
Former territory
* Now a Commonwealth realm
Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe

* Since 1234 England and Wales
* Since c.1200 Scotland
* 1175-1921 Ireland
* 1708–1757 Menorca
* Since 1713 Gibraltar
* 1763–1782 Menorca
* 1798–1802 Menorca
* 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate)
* 1813–1964 Malta (Colony)
* 1807–1890 Heligoland
* 1809–1864 Ionian Islands
* 1878–1960 Cyprus
* 1921–1937 Irish Free State
* Since 1922 Northern Ireland

* v
* t
* e

Americas

| 17th century and before| 18th century| 19th and 20th century

|
|

* 1579 New Albion
* 1583–1907 Newfoundland
* 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia
* 1607–1776 Virginia
* Since 1619 Bermuda
* 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony
* 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts & Nevis)
* 1624–1966 *Barbados
* 1625–1650 Saint Croix
* 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts & Nevis)
* 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony
* 1632–1776 Maryland
* since 1632 Montserrat
* 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua & Barbuda)
* 1636–1776 Connecticut
* 1636–1776 Rhode Island
* 1637–1662 New Haven Colony

* 1643–1860 Bay Islands
* Since 1650 Anguilla
* 1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname)
* 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate)
* 1655–1962 *Jamaica
* 1663–1712 Carolina
* 1664–1776 New York
* 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey
* Since 1666 British Virgin Islands
* Since 1670 Cayman Islands
* 1670–1973 *Bahamas
* 1670–1870 Rupert's Land
* 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands1
* 1671–1816 Leeward Islands
* 1674–1702 East Jersey
* 1674–1702 West Jersey
* 1680–1776 New Hampshire
* 1681–1776 Pennsylvania
* 1686–1689 Dominion of New England
* 1691–1776 Massachusetts

* 1701–1776 Delaware
* 1712–1776 North Carolina
* 1712–1776 South Carolina
* 1713–1867 Nova Scotia
* 1733–1776 Georgia
* 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island
* 1762–1974 *Grenada
* 1763–1978 Dominica
* 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island
* 1763–1791 Quebec
* 1763–1783 East Florida
* 1763–1783 West Florida
* 1784–1867 New Brunswick
* 1791–1841 Lower Canada
* 1791–1841 Upper Canada
* Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands

* 1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country2
* 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana)
* Since 1833 Falkland Islands3
* 1833–1960 Windward Islands
* 1833–1960 Leeward Islands
* 1841–1867 Province of Canada
* 1849–1866 Vancouver Island
* 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands
* 1858–1866 British Columbia
* 1859–1870 North-Western Territory
* 1860–1981 *British Antigua and Barbuda
* 1862–1863 Stikine Territory
* 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia
* 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada4
* 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize)
* 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis
* 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago
* 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland5
* Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands3
* 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

* 1\. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia.
* 2\. Occupied jointly with the United States.
* 3\. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.
* 4\. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
* 5\. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

* v
* t
* e

Africa

| 17th and 18th centuries| 19th century| 20th century

|
|

* Since 1658 Saint Helena14
* 1792–1961 Sierra Leone
* 1795–1803 Cape Colony

* Since 1815 Ascension Island14
* Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha14
* 1806–1910 Cape Colony
* 1807–1808 Madeira
* 1810–1968 Mauritius
* 1816–1965 The Gambia
* 1856–1910 Natal
* 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho)
* 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana)
* 1882–1922 Egypt

* 1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana)
* 1884–1960 British Somaliland
* 1887–1897 Zululand
* 1890–1962 Uganda
* 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania)
* 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi)
* 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate
* 1893–1968 Swaziland
* 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate
* 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan

* 1900–1914 Northern Nigeria
* 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria
* 1900–1910 Orange River Colony
* 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony
* 1903–1976 Seychelles
* 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony
* 1910–1931 South Africa
* 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate
* 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia)
* 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon)6
* 1920–1963 Kenya
* 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania)6
* 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)7
* 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)
* 1953–1963 Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
* 1954–1960 Nigeria
* 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)7

* 6\. League of Nations mandate.
* 7\. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

* v
* t
* e

Asia

| 17th and 18th century| 19th century| 20th century

|
|

* 1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra)
* 1702–1705 Pulo Condore
* 1757-1862 Bengal (to 1862)
* 1862–1947 Bengal (from 1862) (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh)
* 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite
* 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia)
* 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
* 1796–1965 Maldives

* 1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra)
* 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore)
* 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore)
* 1839–1967 Colony of Aden
* 1839–1842 Afghanistan
* 1841–1997 Hong Kong
* 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia)
* 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia)
* 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) • Bombay • Calcutta • Madras • North-Western Provinces/Allahabad)
* 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)

* 1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate)
* 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia)
* 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States
* 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei
* 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate
* 1892–1971 Trucial States
* 1895–1946 Federated Malay States
* 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison

* 1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate)
* 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate
* 1920–1932 Iraq8
* 1921–1946 Transjordan8
* 1923–1948 Palestine8
* 1945–1946 South Vietnam
* 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia)
* 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia)
* 1946–1963 Singapore
* 1946–1948 Malayan Union
* 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia)
* Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus)
* Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

8 League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

* v
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* e

Oceania

| 18th and 19th centuries| 20th century

|

* 1788–1901 New South Wales
* 1803–1901 Tasmania
* 1807–1863 Auckland Islands9
* 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu)
* 1824–1901 Queensland
* 1829–1901 Western Australia
* 1836–1901 South Australia
* since 1838 Pitcairn Islands

* 1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand
* 1851–1901 Victoria
* 1874–1970 Fiji10
* 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories
* 1884–1949 Territory of Papua
* 1888–1901 Cook Islands9
* 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau)9
* 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands11
* 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands12

* 1900–1970 Tonga (protected state)
* 1900–1974 Niue9
* 1901–1942 *Commonwealth of Australia*Northern Territory
* 1907–1953 *Dominion of New Zealand
* 1919–1942 Nauru
* 1945–1968 Nauru
* 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea
* 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea13

* 9\. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
* 10\. Suspended member.
* 11\. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.
* 12\. Now the *Solomon Islands.
* 13\. Now *Papua New Guinea.

Antarctica and South Atlantic

* Since 1658 Saint Helena14
* Since 1815 Ascension Island14
* Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha14
* Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory15
* 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia)
* 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)

* 14\. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
* 15\. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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