The Master of the Rolls presides over the civil division of England’s Court of Appeal and has existed since the 13th century. Initially, the role was administrative, but it evolved to include arbitral duties. The Master of the Rolls rules on civil cases, and criminal cases are dealt with by the Lord Chief Justice. The appeals process requires permission and is based on two criteria. Sir Thomas Bingham, the 91st Master of the Rolls, played a significant role in creating the Supreme Court of England. Previously, the Judiciary Committee of the House of Lords acted as the supreme arbitrator.
The Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, or simply the Master of the Eolls, is an English bailiff who presides over the civil division of the country’s Court of Appeal. Historical documents document the existence of the office since the 13th century, and it is probably even older. The Master of the Rolls is only junior to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice in the hierarchy of the English judicial system.
Early in its history, the office of Master of the Rolls was not a judicial one, but a registrar’s one. The master was responsible for keeping all records of the civil court, then known as the Court of Chancery. Over time, from about the beginning of the 16th century, the role evolved to take on more arbitral and less administrative duties. In the 16th, the main administrative duty held by the Master of the Rolls was to maintain a register of registered solicitors, which is a specific category of solicitors in English law.
Specifically, the Master of the Rolls rules on civil cases that reach the Court of Appeals. Criminal cases are dealt with with the Master of the Roll’s counterpart, the Lord Chief Justice. The Civil Division deals almost exclusively with cases brought by the various county courts and the High Court of Justice.
The appeals process in England works on the basis of a defendant receiving permission to do so, rather than being automatic following a decision. The application is filed in the lower court and is then examined by the judge. The judge can accept or reject the appeal on the basis of two criteria written in the law; if the appeal has a “real prospect of success”, or if there is another “coherent” reason it should be heard by a higher court.
Since records began in 1286, there have been 95 masters. One of the most notable in living memory was Sir Thomas Bingham, the 91st Master of the Rolls. Sir Bingham served from 1992 to 1996 and was instrumental in creating the Supreme Court of England.
Despite the country’s historical achievements in the field of jurisprudence, including historical documents such as Magna Carta, there was no separate supreme court until 2009. Previously, the role of supreme arbitrator had been performed by the Judiciary Committee of the House of Lords, the upper legislative body authority. Prior to 2009, civil and criminal cases on appeal were heard by the Lord Judges of the Judicial Committee and are now heard by the independent Supreme Court.
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