Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Office holders definition

What does Office holders mean? In legal practice, office holders are individuals who occupy an “office” — a position created by law, a constitution or governing documents — where duties attach to the position rather than to a contract of employment. Across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the term is not exhaustively defined in legislation but is described in case law as a substantive role that exists independently of the holder and can be filled by successive incumbents; usage in Ireland is broadly consistent and recognised in company, employment and tax contexts. Key features and significance include: appointment rather than hiring; fiduciary or...

House of Lords (UK): Composition, Constitutional Role, Procedure, Conventions and Reform to 2024, including the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

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Practice notes

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The upper chamber of the UK Parliament has, over the last century, seen major shifts in its membership and in the constraints on its authority, with the principal political parties pressing for further reform. Even so, it remains central to the scrutiny and revision of legislation. Its judicial functions ended on 30 July 2009; from 1 October 2009, the UK Supreme Court has carried out that role under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA 2005). For further detail, see Practice Notes on separation of powers—legislative, executive and judiciary—and on Judges. This Practice Note considers the House in its present guise within the UK legislature.

Origins of the

The concept of Parliament can arguably be traced to the eleventh century, with the ‘Witans’: an Anglo-Saxon political body of councils consulted by Saxon kings and attended by religious leaders, magnates and the king’s ministers. In the fourteenth century, two distinct Houses of Parliament emerged. Representatives of towns and counties began meeting separately as members of the House of Commons, while at the same time archbishops, bishops and sometimes abbots...

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Adam Cygan

University of Leicester

Professor Adam Cygan is Professor of European Union Law at the University of Leicester. His research focuses on institutional and constitutional governance within the Internal Market with a particular emphasis upon the legislative process. Professor Cygan has published extensively on the role of national parliaments in EU decision-making and his research challenges core assumptions within EU integration concerning the constitutional principles of accountability and democracy. In particular, his research has examined the contribution made by parliamentary committees to improving accountability within EU governance. Professor Cygan also has also published extensively on governance issues surrounding the operation of the Internal Market including access to healthcare and free movement of persons. Professor Cygan has significant experience of delivering elite-level consultancy and training to a variety of target groups including members of the judiciary, civil servants, policy makers and legislators. He has worked on a...

Darragh Connell

Darragh deals with all aspects of commercial law with specific emphasis upon domestic and international contractual disputes, insolvency, civil fraud as well as crypto asset recovery. He has a busy commercial litigation practice regularly appearing in the High Court. Prior to joining the Bar, Darragh worked as an analyst with Goldman Sachs in London. He holds a First Class Honours law degree from University College Dublin and he was the Swift MacNeill Scholar at the Honorable Society of the Kings Inns in 2008. Darragh also holds a Masters in Commercial Law from the University of Cambridge (Gonville and Caius College)....

Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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