Tag: the Bill goes on to “modify” rather than abolish the office of Lord Chancellor.  Clauses 4 and 5 guarantee judicial independence in England and Wales and Northern Ireland

Following further debates on 18 October, 11 November and 7 and 14 December 2004 (see also No 390), the Constitutional Reform Bill completed its passage through the House of Lords on 20 December, and is expected to have its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 17 January 2005. 

The Bill has been substantially amended compared to earlier versions.  It opens with a remarkable clause 1 headed The Rule of Law” and providing: “This Act does not adversely affect—(a) the existing constitutional principle of the rule of law