Britain: For the first time in 750 years, a woman will become the Chief Justice

A woman can get the post of Britain's next Lord Chief Justice. This is happening for the first time in the history of Britain's judicial system of more than 750 years. Since the establishment of this post, no woman has sat on this post till date. Two women judges are candidates for the post. These include Dame Sue Carr, 58, and Dame Victoria Sharp, 67. Since Lord Chief Justice is currently a title only used by men, there is talk that British constitutional law may need to be replaced with the title 'Lady Chief Justice'.

The office of Lord Chief Justice was first created in 1268. There have been more than 100 men in this position so far. It is being told that the name of the first female Lord Chief Justice on the post may be announced by Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Alex Chalk within the next two weeks. The final decision of Chak and Prime Minister Sunak will be approved by the king. According to media reports, Dame Victoria Sharp is the frontrunner for Lord Chief Justice.

There is no woman Chief Justice in India till now. But in the year 2027, India's first woman Chief Justice can be found. It is estimated that Justice BV Nagaratna may be the first Chief Justice of India in 2027 on the basis of seniority. Nagaratna was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court in August 2021 by then-President Ram Nath Kovind.

Significantly, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju recently told the Parliament that only 11 women judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court so far. Parliament was informed by the Ministry of Law and Justice in March 2023 that at present there is no woman Chief Justice in any High Court of the country.

As of now, there are 775 working judges, of whom 106 are women, according to the information given by the Ministry to Parliament.

Citing data provided by the Bar Council of India, the ministry said women judges constitute 9.5% of the total strength of high courts. Also, out of 15 lakh advocates in the country, about 2 lacks were women, which was about 15.31% of the total advocates enrolled.