The Lord Chancellor's statutory powers are limited to the dismissal of judicial office holders, below the level of the High Court Bench, generally on the grounds of misbehaviour and incapacity and these are accordingly exercisable only in extreme cases.
There have been no instances in 2000/2001 where it has been necessary for the Lord Chancellor to exercise these powers when considering complaints. But, as Head of the judiciary, the Lord Chancellor is able to guide, counsel, advise or rebuke with a view to ensuring that judges uphold the standards of conduct which the public and he expects of them.

The Lord Chancellor takes a close personal interest in the handling of complaints, particularly those alleging racial or sexual discrimination. He also sees all serious complaints, most notably those alleging racial or sexual discrimination; and those which have attracted, or appear likely to attract, publicity. In addition he sees all cases in which there is a record of similar complaints from several different sources about the conduct of a particular judge. He always replies personally to complaints in these categories and to those received from Peers and Members of Parliament or the Assembly or Parliament Members in the devolved administrations.

Officials in the Judicial Correspondence Unit acting on behalf of the Lord Chancellor will generally draw the complaint to the attention of the member of the Judiciary concerned and give him or her an opportunity to comment. However, the Lord Chancellor does not simply relay the judge's response back to the complainant.
Instead he is committed to giving proper consideration to the judge's recollection of events and to the complainant's perception of what happened before coming to a conclusion based on the weight of evidence before him. Where necessary, therefore, officials will call for transcripts or other additional information and present this for consideration. The complainant receives a full reply and a copy is sent to the judge.

The Judicial Correspondence Unit was set up by the Lord Chancellor in 1998 with specific responsibility for complaints handling. The Unit aims to deliver a high quality service and was enlarged in May 2000 to meet the demand for an increasingly rigorous style of investigation.