Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland

{{Infobox official post

| post = Lord Chief Justice

| body = Northern Ireland

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| incumbent = Dame Siobhan Keegan

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| incumbentsince = 2 September 2021

| department = Judiciary of Northern Ireland

| style = The Right Honourable

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| nominator = Prime Minister, following consultation with the Lord Chief Justice and the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission

| appointer = Monarch

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| termlength = During good behaviour

| termlength_qualified = subject to mandatory retirement at 75

| constituting_instrument = [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/23 Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978]

| precursor = Lord Chief Justice of Ireland

| inaugural = Sir Denis Henry, Bt

| formation = 1922

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| deputy = the senior available Lord Justice of Appeal

| salary = £238,868

| website = {{url|https://www.judiciaryni.uk/}}

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}}

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland{{cite web| url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/26/section/12| title = Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002}}{{cite web| url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/26/section/2| title = Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002}} is a judge who presides over the courts of Northern Ireland and is the head of the Northern Irish judiciary.[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/4/part/2/crossheading/judiciary-and-courts-in-northern-ireland Judiciary and courts in Northern Ireland], legislation.gov.uk; accessed 28 December 2015. The present Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland is Dame Siobhan Keegan.{{cite web|url=https://www.judiciaryni.uk/about-judiciary/judicial-members|title = Judiciary of Northern Ireland}} Her counterpart in England and Wales is the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and in Scotland her equivalent is the Lord President of the Court of Session. The position was established with the creation of Northern Ireland in 1922, and was preceded by the position of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland prior to the partition of Ireland.

Background

The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland holds the office of President of the courts of Northern Ireland and is head of the judiciary of Northern Ireland.Justice (Northern Ireland) Act, 2002, section 12

The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for representing the views of the judiciary of Northern Ireland to government, for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary of Northern Ireland, and for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the deployment of the judiciary of Northern Ireland and the allocation of work within the courts.

The Lord Chief Justice is president of the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Crown Court, the county courts and the magistrates' courts of Northern Ireland. The Lord Chief Justice is entitled to sit on any of those courts, but routinely sits on the Court of Appeal.