UK to Appoint its First Female Lord Chief Justice

For the first time in 755 years, the United Kingdom will assign the position of Lord Chief Justice of Britain to a woman. The two women in a race for the title are Dame Victoria Sharp and Dame Sue Carr,  both of whom have been shortlisted by the panel and will soon be interviewed. 

Since the judiciary position of Lord Chief Justice was first established in 1268, it has only been held by male candidates. By the next two weeks, Britain will have its first woman Lord Chief of Justice. Alex Chalk, who is the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, will select the final candidate and recommend her to the prime minister of the UK. King Charles will then approve and assign her the position. The British constitutional law also needs to come up with a title for the post which is suitable for a woman, since there is no term such as “Lady Chief Justice”.

The current Lord Chief Justice of  England and Wales is Lord Burnett of Maldon who has held this position since October 2, 2017. In India, the chief judge of the Supreme Court is the highest ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary system and also the Chief Justice of India. The current and 50th Chief Justice of India is Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud. He has been serving as a judge of the Supreme Court since 2016 and as the Chief Justice of India since 2022.