Select Committee on the Constitution
The roles of the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers
9th Report of Session 2022-23 - published 18 January 2023 - HL Paper 118
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and creation of the Ministry of Justice
Legal advice and representation
Box 1: Suggested definitions of “the rule of law”
Box 2: Lord Bingham’s eight principles
Is it ever permissible for states to ignore international obligations?
Ministerial Code and international law
Chapter 3: The rule of law—Government actors
Lord Chancellor: rule of law duties
Lord Chancellor: protection of the judiciary
Law Officers: a wider rule of law function?
Chapter 4: Reform of the role of Lord Chancellor
Box 3: Constitutional Reform Act 2005, section 2
Lord Chancellor as Secretary of State for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister
Secretary of State for Justice
Lord Chancellor as Minister for the Constitution
The Lord Chancellor as a member of the House of Lords
Chapter 5: Reform of the role of the Law Officers
Individual decisions to prosecute
Membership of the House of Commons or the House of Lords
Chapter 6: Codification, guidance and accountability
Amendments to the Ministerial Code and Cabinet Manual
Placing the Ministerial Code on a statutory footing
Should the Attorney General be a member of Cabinet?
Reform of the Lord Chancellor and Law Officers’ oaths
Summary of conclusions and recommendations
Appendix 1: List of Members and declarations of interest
Evidence is published online at https://committees.parliament.uk/work/6540/role-of-the-lord-chancellor-and-the-law-officers/ and available for inspection at the Parliamentary Archives (020 7219 3074).
Q in footnotes refers to a question in oral evidence.