Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland

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.

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

Background

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

• 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

• 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

1. "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. Justice (Northern Ireland) Act, 2002, section 12
6. Walker, David M., The Oxford Companion to Law, Appendix I, list of Lord Chief Justices of Northern Ireland, 1922–, p. 1354.

Sources

• 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