Secretary of State for Justice | |
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Ministry of Justice | |
Style | Justice Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (UK and the Commonwealth) |
Status | Secretary of state Minister of the Crown |
Member of | Cabinet Privy Council |
Reports to | The Prime Minister |
Seat | Westminster |
Appointer | The Crown on advice of the Prime Minister |
Inaugural holder | The Lord Falconer |
Formation | 9 May 2007 |
Deputy | Minister of State for Justice |
Website | www |
This article is part of the series: Courts of England and Wales |
Law of England and Wales |
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The secretary of state for justice, also referred to as the justice secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, second in the ministerial ranking, due to the office being held concurrently with that of the deputy prime minister, immediately after the Prime Minister.[1] Since the office's inception, the incumbent has concurrently been appointed Lord Chancellor.
The office holder works alongside the other Justice ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for justice, and the performance of the Secretary of State is also scrutinised by the Justice Select Committee.[2]
The current secretary of state for justice is Dominic Raab since his appointment by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in September 2021.
Corresponding to what is generally known as a justice minister in many other countries, the Justice Secretary's remit includes:
The then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice when it was created in 2007. The office of the secretary of state for constitutional affairs was abolished, along with the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Home Secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future secretaries of state for justice would be MPs rather than peers. Jack Straw took over this department on 28 June 2007, following the selection of Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister and left office on the resignation of Gordon Brown after the May 2010 general election. He was replaced by Conservative MP Ken Clarke.
In the Cabinet reshuffle of August 2012 Chris Grayling was promoted to Lord Chancellor, and, by convention, Secretary of State for Justice. Grayling was the first Lord Chancellor to have no legal background. After the 2015 general election, the position was given to former Government Chief Whip Michael Gove. Michael Gove was replaced after Theresa May became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 14 July 2016 and succeeded by Liz Truss. Following the 2017 general election, which resulted in a minority Conservative government, David Lidington was appointed Secretary of State for Justice, who in turn was succeeded by David Gauke on 8 January 2018 and by Robert Buckland on 24 July 2019.
For Lord Chancellors before 2003, see List of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers. For Secretaries between 2003 and 2007, see Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. |
* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 22 April 2022.