Shabana Mahmood, a British-Pakistani Kashmiri-origin Birmingham MP, has been sworn in as the United Kingdom’s new Lord Chancellor at a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged to continue “defending the international rule of law and upholding human rights”.
The 43-year-old Labour Party member took to social media to share the news with the world on X and wrote: “Today I was honoured to be sworn in as Lord Chancellor, promising to defend our independent judiciary from interference and undue pressure.
“I will be a champion of the Rule of Law. 900 years into this ancient role, it is more vital than ever before.”
Mahmood, who is from Small Heath, Birmingham, became the first the first Muslim woman to be appointed to the post, taking her oath of allegiance on the Holy Quran and saying in her speech that she was “the first Lord Chancellor to speak Urdu”.
She took oath in the presence of Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, the President of the Supreme Court Robert Reed and the Chancellor of the High Court Julian Flaux.
In her speech, Mahmood said the new Labour government would continue “defending the international rule of law and upholding human rights” in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, drawn up after the Second World War.
She also acknowledged the challenges faced by the justice system, adding that more should be done to provide access to justice for women and girls “who are the victims of violence and abuse”.
Addressing the Lord Chancellor, Carr said: “There will no doubt be challenges and choices to be made today and tomorrow. That is an inevitable feature of governing.
“We will work with you and your ministers as you face these demands. I very much look forward to forging a stable, long-term partnership with you as Lord Chancellor within, of course, constitutional bounds, in the service of justice and the achievement of justice.”
