The Lord Chief Justice’s Report 2013

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Published in August 2013, this report covers the period 2012-13.

In the introduction, Lord Judge said:

“This is my final report as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

“It is nearly 25 years since I was first appointed a Justice of the High Court. I have witnessed remarkable changes to our constitutional arrangements and the operation of the administration of justice.

“The greatest change, of course, was the constitutional revolution brought about by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, followed by the changes in 2007 which extended what was once the small Lord Chancellor’s Department into the massive Ministry of Justice. The responsibilities of the Lord Chief Justice as Head of the Judiciary, the arrangements for the financial support for the administration of justice, the system for judicial appointments and the relationship between the Judiciary and the Legislature and the Executive, on their own, have combined and are combining to affect changes to our constitutional arrangements. The consequences have yet fully to emerge. What cannot be allowed to emerge is any diminution in the independence of the judiciary.”

The report was presented to Parliament under s.5(1) Constitutional Reform Act 2005.