The Lord High Chancellor of Sivad is a senior member of the Government of Sivad and a member of the cabinet. He is appointed by the Sovereign on advice of the First Councillor, and is always a peer, and convention dictates that any commoner appointed to the office will be elevated to at least a life peerage. The Lord Chancellor is the presiding officer of the Council of Peers, as well as keeper of the Great Seal of Sivad, and head of the Judiciary. Because of his historical role with the equity courts, the Lord Chancellor is sometimes referred to as "Keeper of the King's Conscience." This office should not be confused with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also a Cabinet official, who presides over the Treasury.