Lord chancellor is a British government official who oversees various aspects of the courts system of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor also acts as a legal adviser to the monarch and as the keeper of the Great Seal of the Realm, which is used to indicate the monarch’s approval of important state documents. The monarch appoints the lord chancellor on the advice of the prime minister. The official title of the office is lord high chancellor of Great Britain.
The lord chancellor was formerly the head of the judiciary in the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor also was required to serve as the speaker of the House of Lords. However, the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 ended these responsibilities.
