the basics on the types of judges

• Collectively, judges are referred to as the judiciary.
• High court judges and above are superior judges
• Inferior judges are circuit judges and below
• The head of the judiciary is the lord chief justice
• Justices of the supreme court are appointed from those who hold high judicial office, as a judge in the court of appeal, or from those who have been qualified to appear in the senior court for at least fifteen years.
• The constitutional reform act 2005 provides that there should be a maximum of 12 justices and they are to be the most senior judges in the country. they sit in the supreme court to hear final appeals from courts all across the united kingdom
• Lord justices of appeal must have qualified as a barrister or solicitor and have gained experience in law for at least seven years or be an existing high court judge.
• The reigning monarch officially appoints Lord justices of appeal. a lord justice of appeal will sit in either:

  • The civil division of the court of appeal, where they will hear appeals from cases in the county or high court
  • The criminal division of the Court of appeal, where they will hear appeals from trials in the crown court.
• To be eligible to be appointed as a high court judge, it is necessary to have been qualified as a barrister or solicitor AND to have gained experience in law for at least 7 years of to have been a circuit judge for at least two years.
• The vast majority of high court judges are appointed to serve full time from barristers who've been in practice for 20-30 years.
• Deputy high court judges, who sit part time, are also appointed and this is a way of testing the suitability of a person to become a high court judge. Candidates are usually expected to have previous judicial experience at a lower level.
• High court judges are officially appointed by the reigning monarch.
• High court judges are assigned to one of the divisions of the high court and will hear cases assigned to that division:

  1. Judges of the King's bench division hear cases of high value that are civil claims of contract and tort. They will also hear serious criminal cases in the crown court.
  2. Judges of the chancery court will hear high-value commercial clams and cases of the liquidation of companies and partnership disputes
  3. judges of the family division will hear claims relating to disputes of property and financial matters of married and unmarried partners and relating to children of relationships
• In order to become a circuit judge, it is necessary to have been a solicitor or barrister who has held a 'right of audience' for at least 10 years. they should generally also have served either part time as a recorder in criminalcases or full time as a district judge in civil cases before being appointed
• Circuit judges will hear both civil and criminal cases:

  1. in the county court, they will hear a wide range of tort and contract claims, claims relating to possesion of land and property disputes and also some family work.
  2. In the crown court, they will take charge of criminal trials, hearing more serious cases as they continue to gain seniorirty and sentence offenders who have plead guilty. possession
• being a circuit judge can also be a part time position for qualified barristers or solicitors who have gained at least 7 years of experience. an applicant is appointed as recorder in training, then a recorder. they will hear less serious civil cases in the county court and less serious criminal cases in the crown court
• A district judge is a full time position and an applicant must have been qualified as a barrister or solicitor and have gained experience in la for at least 5 years or have been a deputy district judge.
• The vast majority of district judges in the county court are former solicitors. it is usual to have sat part time as a deputy district judge before being considered for the position of a district judge.
• Under the tribunals, courts and enforcement act 2007, fellows of the chartered institute of legal executives (CILEx) are now eligible to be appointed as a deputy district judge
• District judges hear civil and criminal cases:

  1. in the county court, and particularly the small claims court, they will hear low value civil claims of tort and contract
  2. In the magistrate's court, they will sit alone to hear summary and either way criminal trials and impoe sentences on offenders of those crimes