Lord Chancellor Alex Norris was today sworn in at the Royal Courts of Justice along with solicitor general Ellie Reeves and attorney general Andy Slaughter.
Norris gave a short speech to the full courtroom 4 in which he mentioned his predecessors Shabana Mahmood and David Lammy as ‘trailblazers in their own right’.
‘It is a huge honour to follow in their footsteps and into an office they have held with such distinction,’ he added. ‘The rule of law requires an independent judiciary…it only has practical meaning if the courts are able to administer justice effectively.
‘I strongly believe in institutions. For us, me and my neighbours and constituents we need institutions more than anybody whether that is effective policy, a national health service, an independent judiciary or, frankly, the BBC, my constituents need that the most.
‘I think this takes its ultimate form in the oath I have taken today and the office I occupy.’
He said the ‘trust’ placed in him as the new lord chancellor needed to ‘be earned and safeguarded’.
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Speaking on judicial independence and safety, Norris said: ‘I am very aware I have a practical responsibility to actively defend judicial independence. If politicians think the law is wrong, it is our job to change it.
‘I am very concerned that in serious cases, attacks on judges can give rise to threats on their safety.’ He told guests that he would respond, ‘not only in words but in actions’ and that he would work to ensure ‘judicial safety keeps pace with this evolving threat’.
‘I promise you this, I will listen, I will learn, I will be intellectually curious. I will work with you and the entire system to deliver best outcomes. Governments will come and go but the responsibility of this office will endure.’
Speeches were also made by the lady chief justice, Reeves and Slaughter as well as Law Society president Mark Evans and bar chair Kirsty Brimelow KC and Baroness Carr of Walton-On-The-Hill said: ‘Your oath-taking today may not be required by statute, but it is a well-established part of our constitution. These two elements underpin the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, both of which your office exists to defend.
‘You are the first non-lawyer lord chancellor since 2018. That, however, is not your real first. That comes from the fact that you are the first non-lawyer lord chancellor in a Labour government; a fact all the more interesting as the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 was steered through by a Labour government. Lord Falconer was, as we all know, the architect of that act. He was also, so I am told, the last lord chancellor to manage to make it in that capacity to three of the City of London’s Mansion House dinners for His Majesty’s Judges. No pressure then.’
She added: ‘My lord chancellor, in taking your oath today, you have joined an illustrious group of individuals who have, for close to 1,000 years, served justice.
‘The proper administration of justice is one fundamental area where its achievement depends upon constitutional co-operation, with government and the judiciary working together where they can, such as in the management of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, judicial appointments and discipline, as much as it does judicial independence, which, as I have said, you have sworn to uphold.
‘In the coming, days, weeks, months – and years – I very much look forward to working with you, as our constitution provides. I wish you well, as we all do, on your appointment.’
In her speech, Reeves advised aspiring lawyers: ‘Follow your dreams and do not let barriers get in the way, instead strive to break them down’ adding that in her role as attorney general she, too, would strive to ‘break down those barriers’.
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