Definition
Lords Justices of Appeal are the ordinary judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The title distinguishes these judges from the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, and the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lords), who sit in the appellate hierarchy above or alongside them. Lords Justices of Appeal hear civil and criminal appeals and collectively constitute the working bench of the Court of Appeal. In modern practice, they are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Lord Chancellor and hold office during good behavior.
The title is formally abbreviated as "LJ" (singular) or "LJJ" (plural) when cited in English case reports.
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Common Confusion
Lords Justices of Appeal are frequently confused with Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (the "Law Lords"), who sat in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and, after 2009, were reconstituted as Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. The two offices are distinct in rank, function, and judicial history. Lords Justices of Appeal sit in the Court of Appeal; they do not sit in the Supreme Court or its predecessor. A researcher encountering "LJ" in a case citation is reading a Court of Appeal judge, not a Law Lord or Supreme Court Justice.
A secondary confusion arises from the pre-Judicature Acts office of Lords Justices of Appeal in Chancery, a separate and earlier position that should not be read as equivalent to the post-1875 title. See Historical Dictionary Support below.
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Why It Matters in Research
The title underwent a structural transformation with the Judicature Acts of 1873 and 1875, which consolidated the superior courts of England and Wales into the Supreme Court of Judicature (comprising the High Court and the Court of Appeal). Researchers working in English case law must be alert to which institutional framework governs the source they are reading.
Before the Judicature Acts, "Lords Justices of Appeal in Chancery" were a distinct set of judges hearing appeals from Vice-Chancellors in equity matters. After the Acts came into operation, that office was absorbed into the new Court of Appeal, and surviving officeholders were grandfathered in as members of the new court. Sources written during the transitional period — roughly 1873 to 1882 — may use the old and new titles inconsistently or refer to the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 as a further layer of appointment authority.
The numerical composition of the bench also shifted across this period. Black's entry (citing the Judicature Act 1877) refers to the "ordinary judges" without specifying a fixed number. Bouvier's (citing the Judicature Act 1881) identifies five judges in that role. Rapalje & Lawrence identifies three distinct classes of Lords Justices depending on the statutory authority under which they were appointed. A researcher citing the size or composition of the Court of Appeal at any particular date must identify which statute was then in force.
For corpus researchers working in Law Mind: English appellate decisions before 1875 may appear under a range of court names — Court of Chancery Appeal, Exchequer Chamber, and others. After 1875, decisions attributed to "The Court of Appeal" and signed by judges styled "LJ" fall within the new unified structure. Citation style in the Law Reports changed accordingly, and the same judge may appear under the old style in earlier volumes and the new style in later ones.
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Historical Dictionary Support
The three historical sources consulted agree on the core institutional point — Lords Justices of Appeal are the judges of the Court of Appeal — but differ in emphasis and detail in ways that illuminate the transitional legal history.
Black's Law Dictionary frames the definition as a clean break: the Judicature Act 1877 created the title for "ordinary judges" of the new Court of Appeal, and the earlier Lords Justices of Appeal in Chancery (established under 14 & 15 Vict. c. 83) are treated as historical predecessors. This framing slightly oversimplifies the transition by presenting the old and new offices as sequential rather than overlapping.
Rapalje & Lawrence provides the most granular account, dividing the post-Judicature Acts Lords Justices into three classes based on their appointing authority: those who held the Chancery office when the Acts took effect and were absorbed into the new court; those appointed under the Judicature Act 1875; and those appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. This tripartite classification is practically useful for researchers trying to date or contextualize particular appointments.
Bouvier's is the most concise, citing the Judicature Act 1881 and giving the number as five. This reflects a slightly later statutory snapshot than Black's 1877 reference, confirming that the statutory framework continued to evolve in the years immediately following the initial consolidation.
None of the historical sources addresses the post-1966 developments, the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal created by the Criminal Appeal Act 1968, or the impact of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which retitled certain judicial offices and created the Supreme Court. Researchers using these dictionaries for anything beyond the Victorian institutional framework should supplement with modern sources.
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Jurisdictional Note
The title and office are specific to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland maintain separate appellate structures. Commonwealth jurisdictions that historically sent appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council developed their own intermediate appellate court titles and should not be assumed to use this term.
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Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia:
- Court of Appeal (England and Wales)
- Judicature Acts
- Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
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