{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senior-courts-act-1981/section-10",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senior-courts-act-1981/section-10.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1981/54",
  "legislation_title": "Senior Courts Act 1981",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/senior-courts-act-1981",
  "path": "section/10",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "10",
  "heading": "Appointment of judges of Senior Courts.",
  "text": "(1) Whenever the office of Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls, President of the Queen's Bench Division, President of the Family Division or President of the Business and Property Division is vacant, Her Majesty may , on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, by letters patent appoint a qualified person to that office.\n(2) Subject to the limits on full-time equivalent numbers for the time being imposed by sections 2(1) and 4(1), Her Majesty may , on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, from time to time by letters patent appoint qualified persons as Lords Justices of Appeal or as puisne judges of the High Court.\n(3) No person shall be qualified for appointment—\n(a) as Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls, President of the Queen's Bench Division, President of the Family Division or President of the Business and Property Division, unless he is qualified for appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal or is a judge of the Court of Appeal;\n(b) as a Lord Justice of Appeal, unless—\n(i)he satisfies the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 7-year basis; or\n(ii)he is a judge of the High Court;; or\n(c) as a puisne judge of the High Court, unless—\n(i)he satisfies the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 7-year basis; or\n(ii)he is a Circuit judge who has held that office for at least 2 years.\n(4) A person appointed—\n(a) to any of the offices mentioned in subsection (1),\n(b) as a Lord Justice of Appeal, or\n(c) as a puisne judge of the High Court,\nshall take the required oaths as soon as may be after accepting office.\n(5) In the case of a person appointed to the office of Lord Chief Justice, the required oaths are to be taken in the presence of all of the following—\n(a) the Master of the Rolls;\n(b) the President of the Queen's Bench Division;\n(c) the President of the Family Division;\n(d) the President of the Business and Property Division.\n(6) Where subsection (5) applies but there is a vacancy in one or more (but not all) of the offices mentioned in that subsection, the required oaths are to be taken in the presence of the holders of such of the offices as are not vacant.\n(6A) Where the holder of an office mentioned in subsection (5) is incapable of exercising the functions of the office, the office is to be treated as vacant for the purposes of subsection (6).\n(7) In the case of a person appointed other than to the office of Lord Chief Justice, the required oaths are to be taken in the presence of—\n(a) the Lord Chief Justice, or\n(b) a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) nominated by him for this purpose.\n(8) In this section “required oaths” means—\n(a) the oath of allegiance, and\n(b) the judicial oath,\nas set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(1) substituted (1.10.2005) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 122(2)(a); S.I. 2005/2505, art. 2(c)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(1) substituted (1.10.2026) by The Senior Courts (Transfer, Amendment and Consequential Provision) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/723), art. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 12(2)(d)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(1) inserted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 122(2)(b); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(m)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(2) inserted (15.7.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 13 para. 15; S.I. 2013/1725, art. 2(g)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(2) inserted (3.4.2006) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 122(3); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(m)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(3)(a) substituted (1.10.2005) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 122(4); S.I. 2005/2505, art. 2(c)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(3)(a) substituted (1.10.2026) by The Senior Courts (Transfer, Amendment and Consequential Provision) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/723), art. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 12(2)(d)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words substituted by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 37), s. 71(1)(a)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "S. 10(3)(b)(i)(c)(i) substituted (21.7.2008) by Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c. 15), ss. 50(6), 148, Sch. 10 para. 13(2); S.I. 2008/1653, art. 2(d) (with arts. 3, 4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Words substituted by Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41, SIF 37), s. 71(1)(b)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F11",
      "text": "S. 10(4)-(8) substituted (3.4.2006) for s. 10(4) by Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 15, 148, Sch. 4 para. 122(5); S.I. 2006/1014, art. 2(a), Sch. 1 para. 11(m)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F12",
      "text": "Words in s. 10(5)(d) substituted (1.10.2026) by The Senior Courts (Transfer, Amendment and Consequential Provision) Order 2026 (S.I. 2026/723), art. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 12(2)(d)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F13",
      "text": "S. 10(6A) inserted (15.7.2013) by Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22), s. 61(3), Sch. 13 para. 88; S.I. 2013/1725, art. 2(g)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F14",
      "text": "Words in s. 10 sidenote substituted (1.10.2009) by virtue of Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4), ss. 59, 148, Sch. 11 para. 26(1); S.I. 2009/1604, art. 2(d)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/54/section/10",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:13:48.516361+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}