{"id":72633,"date":"2016-07-21T16:02:37","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T16:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=efb9fe53b8ea6cf468492a3aa2ef549b"},"modified":"2016-07-21T16:02:37","modified_gmt":"2016-07-21T16:02:37","slug":"speech-lord-chancellor-swearing-in-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=72633","title":{"rendered":"Speech: Lord Chancellor swearing in ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Speech for the swearing in of the Lord Chancellor<\/h3>\n

Mr Attorney, let me begin by thanking the Lord Chief Justice for his kind words \u2013 and the warm welcome he has given me over the past week.<\/p>\n

I am delighted to have been appointed to this role.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a privilege and an honour for me to have been sworn in today as the first woman Lord Chancellor.<\/p>\n

Although, as the Lord Chief Justice has mentioned, I may not be the first woman to hold the Great Seal.<\/p>\n

The duties that go with this role today \u2013 to respect and defend the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary \u2013 must be upheld now as ever.<\/p>\n

In my time as Lord Chancellor, I will uphold them with dedication.<\/p>\n

Because the rule of law is the cornerstone of the British way of life.<\/p>\n

It is the \u201csafest shield\u201d, as Sir Edward Coke \u2013 a great son of Norfolk \u2013 put it.<\/p>\n

And as Lord Bingham wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cthe hallmarks of a regime which flouts the rule of law are, alas, all too familiar \u2013 the midnight knock on the door, the sudden disappearance, the show trial\u201d.<\/p>\n

The fundamentals of civilisation and liberty depend on the rule of law.<\/p>\n

It is our safeguard against extremism, oppression and dictatorship \u2013 the separation of powers keeps the executive in check.<\/p>\n

It is the basis of our prosperity, which is sustained by secure contracts and free trade.<\/p>\n

And it shapes the fabric of our free society \u2013 the order, the stability, the equality and the individual freedom that we all love and respect.<\/p>\n

We have inherited the finest legal tradition in the world.<\/p>\n

And it is our duty to protect it.<\/p>\n

We know that all successful societies have the rule of law at their core.<\/p>\n

And it is a source of pride that the common law has played a key role in so many of them.<\/p>\n

Our law, English common law, has shaped the world for the better.<\/p>\n

It is at the heart of everything I believe in.<\/p>\n

As a Parliamentarian, the rule of law has been at the centre of my work.<\/p>\n

When I was in commerce \u2013 negotiating anything from shipping charters to telecoms supply agreements \u2013 every single transaction was underpinned by contract law.<\/p>\n

And wherever I did business around the world, the preferred contract law was English law.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because we have the most open and trusted legal system in the world.<\/p>\n

That is why we are so often the first choice of legal venue for international litigators looking to be treated fairly.<\/p>\n

They know that we have the greatest judiciary in the world, with a reputation for excellence, incorruptibility, objectivity and independence.<\/p>\n

I would like to see that reputation acknowledged more widely at home.<\/p>\n

Without judges \u2013 from the supreme court to the local magistrates\u2019 court \u2013 the rule of law would be nothing more than an empty slogan.<\/p>\n

You are the human face of the administration of justice, and there can be no higher calling.<\/p>\n

As a career, it should be seen as attractive \u2013 and prestigious \u2013 by every possible person, from every possible background.<\/p>\n

In time, this will help the judiciary to be drawn from a pool of the widest available talent.<\/p>\n

As a young woman, I remember going to Leeds Crown Court to see a female barrister defending cases, and saw for myself how the profession was changing.<\/p>\n

I saw how justice was done, the importance of trial by jury, how everyone participates in the legal process \u2013 it was an inspiring experience.<\/p>\n

I want as many people as possible to have that same experience, to understand the process of law, to want to join the legal profession and to become judges.<\/p>\n

There has already been fantastic work carried out by the Lord Chief Justice on this front \u2013 and I will help with that, widening and opening up the profession.<\/p>\n

After all, the law is our common law, our shared law.<\/p>\n

I am a great supporter of reform and modernisation throughout the courts and tribunals system; and that urgent task will be high on my agenda in the months ahead, as I know it is for senior members of the judiciary.<\/p>\n

As the first woman Lord Chancellor, I am proud to be part of our constantly evolving justice system.<\/p>\n

It is a system that evolves, from precedent to precedent, in step with society.<\/p>\n

But all the while, the fundamental principles of justice in this country remain the same.<\/p>\n

The thread running through it all is the rule of law \u2013 it shaped society in the past, does so now, and will do so in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Speech by The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, at her Lord Chancellor swearing in ceremony, 21 July 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72633"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72633\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}