[JURIST] The UK House of Lords Tuesday defeated a government measure that would have redefined the centuries-old office of Lord Chancellor by no longer requiring the position to be held by someone who was both a lawyer and member of the British parliament's upper chamber. The government measure was presented as one to better ensure the independence of the judiciary, but peers argued that the principle of independence was so recognized in convention that explicitly reflecting it in written law was unnecessary. This is the second setback for the government in its ongoing constitutional reform initiative; in July, the Lords blocked a proposal to completely abolish the Lord Chancellor's office. From London, the English legal newspaper The Lawyer has more.