Law and Politics: Rumours of the Demise of the Lord Chancellor have been Exaggerated ...

Not surprisingly, the war in Iraq and the ‘war on terror’ have set the agenda for many of the developments in law and politics during 2004. There have been major conflicts between the government and the courts on legislation intended to protect society from terrorists. There have also been major developments on the domestic front. The announcement of the demise of the office of Lord Chancellor and its replacement by a Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs in June 2003 was proved to be premature, following pressure from the House of Lords in the autumn. However, plans for a new Supreme Court made progress after a Concordat was agreed between the government and senior members of the judiciary. Hunting again provoked much controversy, with the Hunting Bill eventually passing through use of the Parliament Acts; it promises some interesting legal challenges in 2005.