Renamed the High Court's Chancery Division and transferred the Admiralty and Commercial Courts into this newly titled Business and Property Division.
Establishes the Business and Property Division of the High Court by renaming the existing Chancery Division and transferring the Admiralty and Commercial Courts into it from the King's Bench Division.
The order replaces the title of 'Chancellor of the High Court' with 'President of the Business and Property Division' and updates references to 'Masters' and 'Chief Masters' accordingly.
These changes apply to the judiciary of England and Wales and affect a wide range of primary and secondary legislation that references High Court structures and judicial offices.
Arguments For
The order states that the Lord Chancellor and specific Senior Courts judges recommended transferring the Admiralty and Commercial Courts to the Chancery Division.
The document indicates that renaming the Chancery Division to the Business and Property Division is a consequence of these court transfers.
Proponents within the judicial leadership cited in the preamble seek to consolidate specific specialist jurisdictions within a single High Court division.
Arguments Against
Legal practitioners may face administrative burdens during the transition period as existing case law and procedural references to the "Chancery Division" become technically obsolete.
Legal scholars might question the necessity of renaming a long-established judicial division and its leadership titles for what the explanatory note describes as having "no significant impact."
The broad scope of consequential amendments across numerous Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments creates a risk of clerical errors in updating legal documentation.
Citation, commencement and extent
- -(1) This Order may be cited as the Senior Courts (Transfer, Amendment and Consequential Provision) Order 2026.
- (2) This Order comes into force on 1st October 2026.
- (3) This Order extends to England and Wales.
Establishes the official name and jurisdiction of the order.
It sets the legal effective date for all changes as 1 October 2026 and limits its application to the legal system of England and Wales.
Amendment of the Senior Courts Act 1981
- -(1) The Senior Courts Act 1981( 2 ) is amended as follows.
(2) In section 5(1)(a) (divisions of High Court)-
- (a) for 'Chancery Division' substitute 'Business and Property Division';
- (b) for 'the Chancellor of the High Court, who shall be president thereof,' substitute 'the President of the Business and Property Division'.
(3) In section 6 (the Patents, Admiralty and Commercial Courts), for subsection (1) substitute-
'(1) There shall be as part of the Business and Property Division-
- (a) a Patents Court,
- (b) an Admiralty Court, and
- (c) a Commercial Court.'.
Renames the Chancery Division of the High Court to the Business and Property Division and updates the title of its presiding judge.
It also legally moves the Admiralty Court and the Commercial Court from their former division into this new division, alongside the Patents Court.
Amendments of primary legislation
- Schedule 1 to this Order, which contains amendments to primary legislation in consequence of article 2, has effect.
Activates the first schedule of the order.
This ensures that all changes to the names of court divisions and judicial titles are reflected across other Acts of Parliament.
Amendments of subordinate legislation
- Schedule 2 to this Order, which contains amendments to subordinate legislation in consequence of article 2, has effect.
Activates the second schedule of the order.
This applies the naming and structural changes to secondary legislation, such as regulations and court rules.
Schedule 1
Amendments to primary legislation
Article 3
...[Paragraphs 1-28]...
Updates various Acts of Parliament dating from 1842 to 2022 to replace references to the 'Chancery Division' and 'Chancellor of the High Court' with the new terminology.
Affected laws include the Law of Property Act 1925, the Insolvency Act 1986, and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
It also updates judicial titles for Masters and Deputy Masters in the context of pensions and appointments.
Schedule 2
Amendments to subordinate legislation
Article 4
...[Paragraphs 1-23]...
Modifies various statutory instruments and court rules to align with the new High Court divisional structure.
Notable updates occur in the Family Procedure Rules 2010, the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, and regulations concerning judicial pensions and retirement offices.
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