City Court of Aldermen
Aldermen (robed in scarlet) at Guildhall
Type
Type	Committee of theCity of London Corporation
Term limits	None
History
Founded	Time immemorial
Preceded by	Court of Husting
Leadership
Lord Mayor	Alastair King since 2024
Structure
Seats	25 Aldermen
Independent	25 / 25
Meeting place
Guildhall of London

TheCourt of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of theCity of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-fiveAldermen of theCity of London, presided over by theLord Mayor (becoming senior Alderman during his or her year of office). The Court was originally responsible for the entire administration of the City, but most of its responsibilities were subsumed by theCourt of Common Council in the fourteenth century. The Court of Aldermen meets seven times a year in the Aldermen's Court Room atGuildhall.^[1] The few remaining duties of the Court include approving people forFreedom of the City, approving the formation of newlivery companies,^[2] and appointing theRecorder of London.

It is probable that no definite account of the origin of the office of Alderman, or of the body known as the Court of Aldermen can ever be written for, and is likely that the office of the Aldermen of the City of London came into existence by a process of natural growth and development created by the necessities of the times.^[3] The first possible mention of the court comes from 1200, 'fiveand-twenty of the more discreet men of the City' were 'sworn to take counsel on behalf of the City together with the Mayor',^[4] although this could possibly be an early form of theLondon Common Council, as in 1200 there were only 24 wards.^[5]

Although there is no compulsion by law to do so,^[6][7] Aldermen usually submit themselves for re-election every six years and by custom retire at the age of 70.

In 2020, David Graves declined to stand for re-election after six years as Alderman for Cripplegate, stating "given the current CV-19 concerns and limitations, I decided that to trigger a 42 ... day electoral process now would be inappropriate and unsuitable for the good conduct of a fair election". He again deferred standing for re-election in 2021 for the same reason, triggering calls for the reform of the law relating to this election.^[8]

• Wards of the City of London
• Sheriff of the City of London

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