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Lord Kerr Of Tonaghmore
Brian Francis Kerr, Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore, (; 22 February 19481 December 2020), was a Northern Irish barrister and a senior judge. He held office as Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and then as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In 2009, he was the last person to receive a law life peerage under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. At the time of his retirement on 30 September 2020, he was the longest-serving justice of the Supreme Court, and the court's last original member. Early life Kerr was born on 22 February 1948 to James William Kerr and Kathleen Rose Kerr () of Lurgan in County Armagh. He was educated at St Colman's College, Newry, and read law at Queen's University Belfast. He was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1970, and to the Bar of England and Wales at Gray's Inn in 1975. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1983 and became a member of the Bar of Ireland in 1990, and an Honorary Bencher of Gray's Inn in 1997 and the King's Inn ...
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The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is predominantly used today as a style associated with the holding of certain senior public offices in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and, to a lesser extent, Australia. ''Right'' in this context is an adverb meaning 'very' or 'fully'. Grammatically, ''The Right Honourable'' is an adjectival phrase which gives information about a person. As such, it is not considered correct to apply it in direct address, nor to use it on its own as a title in place of a name; but rather it is used in the Grammatical person, third person along with a name or noun to be modified. ''Right'' may be abbreviated to ''Rt'', and ''Honourable'' to ''Hon.'', or both. ''The'' is sometimes dropped in written abbreviated form, but is ...
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Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876
The Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict. c. 59) was an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered the judicial functions of the House of Lords by allowing senior judges to sit in the House of Lords as life peers with the rank of Baron#Britain and Ireland, baron, known as Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. The first person to be made a law lord under its terms was Colin Blackburn, Baron Blackburn, Sir Colin Blackburn on 16 October 1876, who became ''Baron Blackburn''. The Act was repealed by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,The Constitutional Reform Act 2005, section145an146 and Schedule 17paragraph 9 and Schedule 18Part 5/ref> which transferred the judicial functions from the House of Lords to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Following the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the practice of appointing Lords of Appeal in Ordinary was discontinued. The last person to be made a law lord was Brian Kerr, Baron Kerr of T ...
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Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the most ancient sort of British knight (the rank existed during the 13th-century reign of Henry III of England, King Henry III), but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of chivalric orders. A man who is knighted is formally addressed as "Sir [First Name] [Surname]" or "Sir [First Name]" and his wife as "Lady [Surname]". The designation "Bachelor" in this context conveys the concept of "junior in rank". Criteria Knighthood is usually conferred for public service; amongst its recipients are all male judges of His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England. It is possible to be a Knight Bachelor and a junior member of an order of chivalry without being a knight of that or ...
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Courts Of Northern Ireland
The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by the law of Northern Ireland. Prior to the partition of Ireland, Northern Ireland was part of the courts system of Ireland. After partition, Northern Ireland's courts became separate from the court system of the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland continues to have a separate legal system to the rest of the United Kingdom. There are exceptions to that rule, such as in immigration and military law, for which there is a unified judicial system for the whole United Kingdom. To overcome problems resulting from the intimidation of jurors and witnesses, the right to a jury trial in Northern Ireland was suspended for certain terrorist offences in 1972, and the so-called " Diplock courts" were introduced to try people charged with paramilitary activities. Diplock courts are common in Northern Ireland for crimes conn ...
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Treasury Devil
Devilling is the custom of more senior self employed barristers/advocates making use of their junior’s services to complete briefs belonging to the more senior barrister/advocate, usually without the knowledge of the attorney. Not to be confused with the period of training called pupillage or junior work undertaken by a person wishing to become an advocate in one of the English-speaking common law systems of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Australia. Devilling cannot be done by a pupil and has to be done by a junior barrister/advocate, as it is paid work usually at a rate lower than the normal fee of the junior. Etymology While there is currently no consensus on the origin of the term, it likely was borrowed from the existing phrase 'printer's devil', (or printer's apprentice) the origin of which is also in dispute. One possible explanation is that, in the earliest stages of moveable type, most if not all printings were of bibles and biblical passages. When an error ...
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King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns () is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environments. The Benchers of King's Inns award the degree of barrister-at-law necessary to qualify as a barrister and be called to the bar in Ireland. As well as training future and qualified barristers, the school extends its reach to a diverse community of people from legal and non-legal backgrounds offering a range of accessible part-time courses in specialist areas of the law. History The King's Inns society was granted a royal charter by King Henry VIII in 1541, 51 years before Trinity College Dublin was founded, making it one of the oldest professional and educational institutions in the English-speaking world. The founders named their society in honour of King Henry VIII of England and his newly established Kingdom of Ireland. Initially, the society was housed in a disused ...
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Bar Of Ireland
The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly called the Bar Council of Ireland, which was established in 1897. The Council is composed of twenty-five members: twenty who are elected, four co-opted, and the Attorney-General of Ireland, Attorney-General, who holds office ''ex officio''. Every year, ten members are elected for two-year terms; five by senior counsel and five by junior counsel. The Bar of Ireland funds the Law Library, which has premises in Dublin in the Four Courts, Church Street, and the Criminal Courts of Justice (Dublin), Criminal Courts of Justice, and also a smaller library in Cork (city), Cork. Nearly all barristers practising in Ireland are members of the Law Library, which is often used as a metonym for the Irish barrister profession itself. Before the creation of ...
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Queen's Counsel
A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarch is a woman, the title is Queen's Counsel (QC). The position originated in England and Wales. Some Commonwealth countries have retained the designation, while others have either abolished the position or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations — for example, "Senior Counsel" or "Senior Advocate". Appointment as King's Counsel is an office recognised by courts. Members in the UK have the privilege of sitting within the inner Bar (law), bar of court. As members wear silk gowns of a particular design, appointment as King's Counsel is known informally as ''taking silk'' and KCs are often colloquially called ''silks''. Appointments are made from within the legal profession on the basis of merit and not a particular level of expe ...
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Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these inns. Located at the intersection of High Holborn and Gray's Inn Road in Central London, the Inn is a professional body and provides office and some residential accommodation for barristers. It is ruled by a governing council called "Pension", made up of the Masters of the Bench (or "benchers") and led by the Treasurer#In the Inns of Court, Treasurer, who is elected to serve a one-year term. The Inn is known for its gardens (the "Walks"), which have existed since at least 1597. Gray's Inn does not claim a specific foundation date; none of the Inns of Court claims to be any older than the others. Law clerks and their apprentices have been established on the present site since at latest 1370, with ...
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Barristers In England And Wales
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecution. (The word "lawyer" is a generic term, referring to a person who practises in law, which could also be deemed to include other legal practitioners such as chartered legal executives.) Origin of the profession The work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales is divided between solicitors and barristers. Both are trained in law but serve differing functions in the practice of law. Historically, the superior courts were based in London, the capital city. To dispense justice throughout the country, a judge and court personnel would periodically travel a regional circuit to deal with cases that had arisen there. From this developed a body of lawyers who were on socially familiar terms with the judges, had training and experience ...
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Bar Of Northern Ireland
The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association of barristers for Northern Ireland, with over 600 members. It is based in the Bar Library, beside the Royal Courts of Justice, Belfast, Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, together with the Bar Council of Northern Ireland (the professional body of the members of the Northern Irish Bar) and the Executive Council. The Executive Council has taken on many of the functions formerly exercised by the Benchers of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland, which was established at a meeting of the Bench and Bar held on 11 January 1926. Relationship with the Bar of Ireland Before the partition of Ireland, barristers throughout the island of Ireland were trained at the King's Inns and were members of the Bar of Ireland. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 split Ireland into two legal jurisdictions, and after 1922, Northern Ireland became a separate legal system. The King's Inns initially hoped partition would not end its all-island re ...
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Admission To Practice Law
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are distinct practising certificates. Becoming a lawyer is a widely varied process around the world. Common to all jurisdictions are requirements of age and competence; some jurisdictions also require documentation of citizenship or immigration status. However, the most varied requirements are those surrounding the preparation for the license, whether it includes obtaining a law degree, passing an exam, or serving in an apprenticeship. In English, admission is also called a law license. Basic requirements vary from country to country, as described below. In some jurisdictions, after admission the lawyer needs to maintain a current practising certificate to be permitted to offer services to the public. Africa The African Union comprises all 55 co ...
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