Whenever the office of Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls, President of the Queen's Bench Division, President of the Family Division or Chancellor of the High Court is vacant, Her Majesty may , on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, by letters patent appoint a qualified person to that office.
Subject to the limits on full-time equivalent numbers for the time being imposed by sections 2(1) and 4(1), Her Majesty may , on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, from time to time by letters patent appoint qualified persons as Lords Justices of Appeal or as puisne judges of the High Court.
No person shall be qualified for appointment—
A person appointed—
shall take the required oaths as soon as may be after accepting office.
In the case of a person appointed to the office of Lord Chief Justice, the required oaths are to be taken in the presence of all of the following—
Where subsection (5) applies but there is a vacancy in one or more (but not all) of the offices mentioned in that subsection, the required oaths are to be taken in the presence of the holders of such of the offices as are not vacant.
Where the holder of an office mentioned in subsection (5) is incapable of exercising the functions of the office, the office is to be treated as vacant for the purposes of subsection (6).
In the case of a person appointed other than to the office of Lord Chief Justice, the required oaths are to be taken in the presence of—
In this section "required oaths" means—
as set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868.