The Judicial House Of Lords

The House of Lords served as the highest court in the UK for over 130 years. In 2009 the new UK Supreme Court took over its judicial functions, closing the doors on one of the most influential legal institutions in the world, and a major chapter in the history of the UK legal system. This volume gathers over 40 leading scholars and practitioners from the UK and beyond to provide a comprehensive history of the House of Lords as a judicial institution, charting its role, working practices, reputation and impact on the law and UK legal system. The book examines the origins of the House's judicial work; the different phases in the court's history; the international reputation and influence of the House in the legal profession; the domestic perception of the House outside the law; and the impact of the House on the UK legal tradition and substantive law. The book offers an invaluable overview of the Judicial House of Lords and a major historical record for the UK legal system now that it has passed into the next chapter in its history.

In 2009 a new UK Supreme Court takes on the judicial functions of the House of Lords. In this book a group of over 40 eminent lawyers and legal historians look back over the 130 years of the judicial House of Lords to give a comprehensive history of its role, reputation and impact on the law in the UK and beyond.

This new book examines the House of Lords in both its Parliamentary and its judicial capacity. A total of 14 contributors discuss such important topics as the membership of the House,how the House compares with other second chambers in bicameral legislatures elsewhere, the role of the Lord Chancellor, the rules concerning discussion of sub judice matters and the stance taken by the Law Lords towards European Community law. At a time when the future of the House is once again under active consideration, the book serves to remind readers of the significance of the institution to the British constitution. It will be of interest to students of government and law as well as to practitioners in the field, including Parliamentarians and judges. The issues dealt with in this book go to the heart of how democracy manifests itself in the United Kingdom today.'. Contributors: Michael Rush, Nicholas Baldwin, Rodney Brazier, Paul Carmichael, Andrew Baker, Patricia Leopold, Gavin Drewry, Sir Louis Blom-Cooper, Brice Dickson, Barry Fitzpatrick, Anthony Bradney, Patricia Maxwell, Kenny Mullan, Simon Lee

This unique book traces the evolution of the House of Lords as a court for private litigation during the critically important years from 1621 to 1675. The book offers a revealing insight into contemporary politics, government and religion, adding an important dimension to the history of the House of Lords.

The roughly 700-member House of Lords is not only a legislative body, it is also the final court of appeal for most cases decided in the United Kingdom. These days cases are not heard by the main body of the House of Lords, they are decided by a committee of the House known as the Appellate Committee. There are 12 full-time members on that Committee - the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. They are judges who have been appointed into the House of Lords specifically to hear appeals, and who do the work of the Appellate Commiitee. Lately the Lords of Appeal have been in the news because of the General Pinochet Appeal. This case has highlighted the importance of the Appellate Committee - and the fallibility of its members. But despite this recent splash of publicity the public still knows little of the Appellate Committee and its members. This book seeks to change that: it looks at the workings of the Appellate Committee and the work done by the Lords of Appeal. It is based in part on interviews conducted with past and present Appellate Committee members and is intended for anyone who is interested in discovering more about the personal and professional lives of the members of the most eminent and powerful judicial body in the United Kingdom.