An Act to simplify the passing of Instruments under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom.
[28th July 1884].
1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Great Seal Act 1884.
2. Authority for passing instrument under Great Seal.
(1) A warrant under Her Majesty’s Royal Sign Manual, countersigned by the Lord Chancellor, or by one of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, or by the Lord High Treasurer, or two of the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, shall be a necessary and sufficient authority for passing any instrument under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, according to the tenor of such warrant; Provided that any instrument which may now be passed under the Great Seal by the fiat or under the authority or directions of the Lord Chancellor or otherwise without passing through any other office may continue to be passed as heretofore.
(2) The Lord Chancellor may from time to time make, and when made revoke and vary, regulations respecting the passing of instruments under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, and respecting the warrants for that purpose, and the preparation of such instruments and warrants, and every such warrant shall be prepared by the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.
(3) No person shall make or prepare any warrant for passing any instrument under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom, or procure any instrument to be passed under that Seal otherwise than in manner provided by this Act or the Crown Office Act 1877; and any person who acts in contravention of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.
And lest it be thought that this is outdated, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (which stripped the Lord Chancellor of his roles as a judge and as speaker of the House of Lords), lists among the continued functions of the office, "Any function of the Lord Chancellor that relates to the custody or use of the Great Seal of the United Kingdom."
Now if anyone thinks that there is a "Great Seal of the Realm" separate from this "Great Seal of the United Kingdom" of which the Lord Chancellor had custody in 1884 and still had custody in 2005, the burden of proof is on you.