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Thechief justice is the presiding member of asupreme court in many countries with a justice system based on Englishcommon law, and provincial orstate supreme courts/high courts.
The situation is slightly different in the three legal jurisdictions within theUnited Kingdom. Thecourts of England and Wales are headed by theLord Chief Justice of England and Wales; inNorthern Ireland's courts, the equivalent position is theLord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and in thecourts of Scotland the head of thejudiciary of Scotland is theLord President of the Court of Session, who is alsoLord Justice General of Scotland. These three judges are not, though, part of theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom, which operates across all three jurisdictions and is headed by thePresident of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The chief justice can be selected in many ways, but, in many nations, the position is given to the most senior justice of the court, while, in the United States, the chief justice is appointed by the President, subject to approval by theUnited States Senate. Although the title of this top American jurist is, by statute,Chief Justice of the United States, the term "Chief Justice of the Supreme Court" is often used unofficially.
In some courts, the chief justice has a different title, e.g.President of the supreme court. In other courts, the title of chief justice is used, but the court has a different name, e.g. theSupreme Court of Judicature in colonial (British)Ceylon, theConstitutional Court ofSouth Africa, and theSupreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (in the US state ofWest Virginia).
The chief justice's personal ruling is equal in weight to the rulings of any associate judges on the court.
In several countries, the chief justice is second in line to the office of president or governor general (or third in line, if there is a vice president or lieutenant governor general), should the incumbent die or resign. For example, if theGovernor General of Canada is unable to perform the duties of the office, theChief Justice of Canada performs the duties of the governor general. In India, in the event thePresident and theVice- President are unable to discharge the functions due to death, resignation or removal, theChief Justice of India acts as Officiating President of India.
Apart from their intrinsic role in litigation, they may have additional responsibilities, such asswearing in high officers of state; for instance, theChief Justice of the United States traditionally administers the oath of office at theinauguration ceremony of thePresident of the United States, as does theChief Justice of South Africa at the inauguration of thePresident of South Africa. In some countries, such as the United States, the chief justice is also responsible for presiding over certain legislative matters, such as during theimpeachment trial of a president.