Lords of Appeal, informally called Law Lords, were members of the
Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The
Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 allowed
life peers to be appointed to the upper house for the specific purpose of serving on the committee, and they were called Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The committee was reconstituted as the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
and many incumbent law lords were co-opted. Later-appointed justices have Lord or Lady as a
courtesy title
A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title).
In some co ...
.
The coats of arms of many law lords, along with those of other senior judicial officeholders, are displayed on the walls and windows of
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
.
They are also recorded in various editions of ''
Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench''.
Law Lords appointed by Queen Victoria (1876-1900)
Law Lords appointed by King Edward VII (1905-1909)
Law Lords appointed by King George V (1910-1935)
No Lords of Appeal were appointed during Edward VIII's short reign.
Law Lords appointed by
King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
(1938-1951)
Law Lords appointed by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
(1953-2009)
Supreme Court Justices appointed by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
(2009-2022)
Supreme Court Justices appointed by King Charles III (2022-present)
None yet appointed.
Notes
†Ennobled in pursuance of the
Life Peerages Act 1958.
References
{{Heraldry of the British Isles
Armorials of the United Kingdom
Committees of the House of Lords
Heraldry and law
Personal armorials