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| Lords Commissioners | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lords Commissioners |
| Type | Commission of the Monarch |
| Appointer | Monarch |
Lords Commissioners are persons appointed by the Monarch to preside over sittings of the House of Lords or perform viceregal and parliamentary functions when the Monarch is unavailable, absent, or disqualified. The office is invoked during State Opening of Parliament, prorogation, and occasions requiring Royal assent delegation, and intersects with institutions such as the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor, and the Leader of the House of Lords. Historically rooted in medieval practice, the commission has evolved through statutes and constitutional practice, including instruments like the Acts of Union 1707 and the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.
The practice of commissioning Lords to act for the Monarch dates to arrangements under the Tudor period, and was shaped by episodes such as the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution. During the Interregnum and the Restoration under Charles II, the machinery for deputising royal functions was refined alongside offices like the Lord Privy Seal and the Lord President of the Council. The commission formality appears in constitutional developments tied to the Act of Settlement 1701, the Acts of Union 1707, and the evolving role of the Parliament. Major crises—such as the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Reform Act 1832, and the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949—affected Lords’ privileges and the use of commissions. Twentieth-century reforms involving figures like the Lord Chancellor, the House of Lords Act 1999, and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 further influenced commission practice.
Lords Commissioners act when the Monarch cannot personally attend the State Opening, prorogue or dissolve Parliament, or give Royal assent in the Lords. Typically drawn from offices including the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Speaker, the Leader of the House of Lords, and the Master of the Rolls, they form a quorum to exercise viceregal ceremonial powers. The commission interfaces with constitutional offices such as the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Secretary of State for Justice, and the Attorney General for England and Wales. In addition to presiding at ceremonies, the commission may be used in delegated administrative acts tied to instruments like Letters Patent and statutory provisions including provisions in the Royal Assent Act 1967.
Appointment is by Monarch through instruction, often on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House of Lords. Historically commissions named peers such as the Earl Marshal, the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Lord High Steward, and holders of offices like the Lord Privy Seal and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Modern commissions typically include the Lord Speaker, the Leader of the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor, and sometimes the Lord Chief Justice. Composition varies with precedent established in events like the State Opening of Parliament in the reigns of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, and Elizabeth II. The commission can include life peers from parties such as the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and crossbenchers appointed via the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Ceremonial functions include presiding at the State Opening of Parliament in lieu of the Monarch, reading prepared speeches, and overseeing prorogation ceremonies. At these events a commission interacts with officers such as the Black Rod, the Yeomen of the Guard, the Gentlemen at Arms, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, reflecting pageantry established in the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The Lords Commissioners carry out ritualised exchanges involving items like the Imperial State Crown and work alongside parliamentary figures exemplified by the Leader of the Opposition and the Lord Speaker. Their presence is codified by precedents tied to the Orders in Council and usages reinforced by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in precedent-setting decisions.
Prominent individuals who have served on commissions include high-profile peers and officeholders such as the Viscount Cranborne, the Earl of Longford, the Marquess of Salisbury, the Baroness Hayman, the Lord Howe of Aberavon, the Lord Hailsham of St Marylebone, the Baroness Amos, the Lord Wakeham, and the Baroness Boothroyd. Historical figures associated with commissioned duties include Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, William Ewart Gladstone, Arthur Balfour, David Lloyd George, and Winston Churchill in contexts of parliamentary procedure. Modern commissioners have included holders of offices such as the Lord Speaker post created under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014 and ministers like the Lord Privy Seal and the Leader of the House of Lords from administrations led by Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, John Major, and Theresa May.
The legal basis for commissions rests in prerogative instruments and statutory provisions interpreted alongside precedence from bodies like the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and rulings involving the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Constitutional practice draws on authorities including the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Settlement 1701, and later enactments affecting royal functions such as the Royal Assent Act 1967 and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Debates over the commission intersect with constitutional controversies surrounding the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, the European Communities Act 1972, and litigation under the Human Rights Act 1998. The commission’s operation reflects unwritten conventions highlighted in works by scholars associated with institutions like King's College London, Oxford University, Cambridge University, and legal texts cited in the Law Commission reports.