Chief justice

Thechief justiceis the presiding member of asupreme courtin many countries with a justice system based on Englishcommon law,such as theHigh Court of Australia,theSupreme Court of Canada,theSupreme Court of Ghana,theHong Kong Court of Final Appeal,theSupreme Court of India,theSupreme Court of Ireland,theSupreme Court of Japan,theSupreme Court of Nepal,theSupreme Court of New Zealand,theSupreme Court of Nigeria,theSupreme Court of Pakistan,theSupreme Court of the Philippines,theSupreme Court of Singapore,theSupreme Court of the United States,and provincial or state supreme courts/high courts.

The situation is slightly different in the three legal jurisdictions within theUnited Kingdom.Thecourts of England and Walesare headed by theLord Chief Justice of England and Wales;inNorthern Ireland's courts,the equivalent position is theLord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland,and in thecourts of Scotlandthe head of thejudiciary of Scotlandis theLord President of the Court of Session,who is alsoLord Justice General of Scotland.These three judges are not, though, part of theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom,which operates across all three jurisdictions and is headed by thePresident of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

The chief justice can be selected in many ways, but, in many nations, the position is given to the most senior justice of the court, while, in the United States, the chief justice is appointed by the President, subject to approval by theUnited States Senate.Although the title of this top American jurist is, by statute,Chief Justice of the United States,the term "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court" is often used unofficially.

In some courts, the chief justice has a different title, e.g.Presidentof the supreme court. In other courts, the title of chief justice is used, but the court has a different name, e.g. theSupreme Court of Judicaturein colonial (British)Ceylon,theConstitutional CourtofSouth Africa,and theSupreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia(in the US state ofWest Virginia).

Competence

The chief justice's personal ruling is equal in weight to the rulings of any associate judges on the court.

In several countries, the chief justice is second in line to the office of president or governor general (or third in line, if there is a vice president or lieutenant governor general), should the incumbent die or resign. For example, if theGovernor General of Canadais unable to perform the duties of the office, theChief Justice of Canadaperforms the duties of the governor general. In India, in the event thePresidentand theVice- Presidentare unable to discharge the functions due to death, resignation or removal, theChief Justice of Indiaacts as Officiating President of India.

Apart from their intrinsic role in litigation, they may have additional responsibilities, such asswearing inhigh officers of state; for instance, theChief Justice of the United Statestraditionally administers the oath of office at theinaugurationceremony of thePresident of the United States,as does theChief Justice of South Africaat the inauguration of thePresident of South Africa.In some countries, such as the United States, the chief justice is also responsible for presiding over certain legislative matters, such as during theimpeachment trial of a president.

List of chief justice positions

• Bailiff of Guernsey
• Bailiff of Jersey
• Chief Justice of Afghanistan
• Chief Justice of Albania

• Chief Justice of Antigua
• Chief Justice of Australia
  • Chief Justice of New South Wales
  • Chief Justice of Queensland
  • Chief Justice of South Australia
  • Chief Justice of Tasmania
  • Chief Justice of Victoria
  • Chief Justice of Western Australia
• Chief Justice of the Bahamas
• Chief Justice of Bangladesh
• Chief Justice of Barbados
• Chief Justice of Belize
• Chief Justice of Bermuda
• Chief Justice of Borneo
• Chief Justice of Brazil
• Chief Justice of Canada
  • Chief Justice of Alberta
  • Chief Justice of British Columbia
  • Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island
  • Chief Justice of Manitoba
  • Chief Justice of New Brunswick
  • Chief Justice of Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Chief Justice of Nova Scotia
  • Chief Justice of Ontario
  • Chief Justice of Quebec
  • Chief Justice of Saskatchewan
• Chief Justice of China
• Chief Justice of Cyprus
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Estonia
• Chief Justice of Fiji
• Chief Justice of Ghana
• Chief Justice of Gibraltar
• Chief Justice of Grenada
• Chief Justice of Guyana
• Chief Justice of Hong Kong
• Chief Justice of Hungary
• Chief Justice of India
  • Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court
  • Chief Justice of Gujarat
  • Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh
  • Chief Justice of the Patna High Court
  • Chief Justice of Uttarakhand
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Indonesia
  • Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia
• Chief Justice of Ireland
• Chief Justice of Jamaica
• Chief Justice of Japan
• Chief Justice of Kenya
• Chief Justice of Kiribati
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Korea
  • President of the Constitutional Court of Korea
• Chief Justice of the Leeward Islands
• Chief Justice of Liberia
• Chief Justice of Malta
• Chief Justice of Malaysia
• Chief Justice of the Federated States of Micronesia
• Chief Justice of Namibia
• Chief Justice of Nauru
• Chief Justice of Nepal
• Chief Justice of New Zealand
• Chief Justice of Nigeria
• Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Norway
• Chief Justice of Pakistan
  • Chief Justices of the Federal Shariat Court
  • Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court
• Chief Justice of the Philippines
• Chief Justice of the Russian Federation
• Chief Justice of Singapore
• Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
• Chief Justice of South Africa
• Chief Justice of St Lucia
• Chief Justice of St Vincent
• Chief Justice of Sudan
• Chief Justice of Tanzania
  • Chief Justice of Zanzibar
• Chief Justice of Tonga
• Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago
• President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
  • Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
  • Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General of Scotland
  • Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
• Chief Justice of the United States

See also

• Associate justice
• Puisne judge
• Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
• Lord President of the Supreme Court
• Chief judge (United States)