Alex Norris was sworn in as Lord Chancellor on 1st October at the Royal Courts of Justice, hours before a service at the Abbey marked the start of the new legal year. He took the oath just as Michaelmas term began.
Royal Courts of Justice
Baroness Carr swore him in, and Norris then led the legal year ceremony. He had been appointed in July, replacing David Lammy, and the day made him the tenth Lord Chancellor since 2016.
At the ceremony, Norris said he was a “strong believer in institutions” and pledged to defend the rule of law “actively”. Baroness Carr described the occasion as “constitutional cooperation” between the political office and the judiciary.
Westminster Abbey
The Abbey service brought together judges, barristers and other legal figures as the new legal year began. The timing put the swearing-in and the ceremonial start of the year on the same day, a rare overlap that gave the office a public start point as well as a formal one.
Norris enters the role while pressure remains on overcrowded prisons, with the government under strain not to release the most serious prisoners early. He has already announced accelerated funding for prison building started under Starmer and wants to look at deporting foreign offenders to free up prison places.
Courts and Tribunals Bill
The next test comes when the Courts and Tribunals Bill returns to parliament in October. The bill is expected to face attention over proposed limits on juries in certain criminal cases, and Norris has not yet set out whether he will publicly back that change.
That question sits alongside his own remarks about institutions and the rule of law. For readers watching the justice system, the October return of the bill is the point at which Norris will have to show how his ceremonial start translates into decisions that change court practice.
