Great Seal Act 1688

The Great Seal Act 1688

Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for enabling the Lords Commissioners for the Great Seale to Execute the office of Lord Chancellor or Lord Keeper.
Citation	1 Will & Mary c 21
Status: Amended
Revised text of statute as amended

The Great Seal Act 1688 (1 Will & Mary c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of England. Section 1 of the Act was still in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.

The Act was passed because the office of Lord Chancellor had been put in commission (that is, divided between several officers at the same time, instead of being held by a single individual). Section 1 of the Act states that the commissioners are to be called Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal of England, and that each lord commissioner is to have the same powers as the Lord Chancellor has. Each lord commissioner is to rank in the order of precedence after the Speaker of the House of Commons. However since the 19th century the office of Lord Chancellor has not been in commission, but has been held by one individual at a time. (As of September 2012 the Lord Chancellor is Chris Grayling.)

Repeals

The rest of the Act has been repealed. Sections 2 and 3 were repealed by section 8(2) of, and Part I of Schedule 5 to, the Justices of the Peace Act 1968. Sections 4 to 6 were repealed by Schedule 4 to the Local Government (Clerks) Act 1931. Sections 7 and 8 were repealed by Schedule 1 to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Section 9 was repealed by section 4 of the Lancaster County Clerk Act 1871.

References

• Halsbury's Statutes,

External links

• The Great Seal Act 1688, as amended from the National Archives.