The legal year traditionally begins in October and courts sit for four terms during the year. The 2009/2010 term dates are:
- Michaelmas: 1 October 2009 – 21 December 2009
- Hilary: 11th January 2010 – 31 March 2010
- Easter: 13th April 2010 - 28th May 2010*
- Trinity: 8th June 2010 – 30th July 2010
*Courts will not sit on Monday 3rd May 2010 as this will be a Bank Holiday.
The start of the legal year is marked by a procession of judges arriving at Westminster Abbey from the Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand for a religious service, followed by the Lord Chancellor’s ‘breakfast’ in the Great Hall in the Houses of Parliament.
Timetable
10.30am People start arriving at Westminster Abbey
11.30am Service begins
12.35pm Leave Westminster Abbey for the Great Hall
History
The service in Westminster Abbey dates back to the Middle Ages when judges prayed for guidance at the start of the legal term. Judges, whose courts were held in Westminster Hall, left the City and walked to the Abbey to take part in the service.
Before the Reformation it was customary to fast for several hours before taking communion during the service. After the ceremony the Lord Chancellor would offer the judge some food to break their fast before they took their seats in courts, hence the term ‘breakfast’.
Present Day
The ceremonies now are more or less as they have always been but, instead of the two mile walk from the Royal Courts of Justice to Westminster Abbey, which has been the case since the late nineteenth century, the judges now travel by car.
The 45-minute service, which starts at 11:30am, is conducted by the Dean of Westminster. It includes prayers, hymns, psalms and anthems; the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, and the Lord Chief Justice read lessons.
Around 1,000 people are invited to attend the service and 500 to attend the breakfast. These include judges, senior judicial officers, the Law Officers, Queen's Counsel (QC), Government ministers, lawyers, members of the European Court and other overseas judges and lawyers. Judges and QCs wear ceremonial dress; the Lord Chancellor will wear formal dress (No wig).
After the service the guests will walk from Westminster Abbey to the Great Hall for the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice’s breakfast, which will consist of a light buffet.
Disruption of Ceremonies
Although well-established traditions, both ceremonies were cancelled on occasion during the last century. The breakfast was cancelled during the First World War and was only held four times during the 22 years 1931-1953.
In 1940 the service had to be cancelled due to bomb damage in the Abbey and it was not held again until 1946. In 1953 the ceremony took place in St Margaret’s Church because structures and decorations for the Coronation in the Abbey had not been removed.
Ends
