Judges

• Types of Judge

  -District Judges can be found in the Small Claims court, and the County Court.

  -District Judges (Magistrates Court) can be found in the Magistrates Court.

  -Recorders (part-time judges) found in both the County Court and Crown Court

  -Circuit Judges found both in the County Court and High Court
• Superior Judges

  Supreme Court (UKSC) – Justices of the Supreme Court.

  Court of Appeal – Lord/Lady Justices of Appeal

  High Court Judges found in the High Court and Crown Court

  Head of the Judiciary is the Lord Chief Justice.
• Magistrates Court – criminal jurisdiction

  •District Judges (Magistrates Court) hear summary offences and some TEW offences such as theft.

  •They decide the verdict and pass sentence. Max. sentence in summary offences is 6 months . Max. sentence in TEW cases is 12 months.
• County Court – civil jurisdiction

  District Judges hear civil cases in the small claims court which deals with claims up to £10,000 ( or £1,000 in personal injury cases).

  District judges, part-time recorders and Circuit Judges hear civil cases under fast track which deals with claims over £10,000 but under £25,000.

  They decide liability and award the appropriate remedy which in civil cases is normally compensation.

  Recorders and Circuit judges can also hear civil cases under multi track which deals with claims over £25,000.
• Crown Court – criminal

  Part-time recorders, Circuit Judges and High Court Judges hear some TEW cases such as theft and all indictable cases such as robbery.

  They manage the case, sum up the evidence to the jury and direct them on the law and pass sentence.

  They hear appeals from the Magistrates Court sitting with 2 lay magistrates.
• High Court


  High Court Judges hear cases in one of the 3 civil divisions which are Kings Bench, Chancery and Family

  They hear civil cases under multi track with a value of over £25,000.

  They decide liability and award the appropriate remedy which is normally compensation.

  •Divisional Court of the KBD Appeals by way of case stated from the magistrates
• Court of appeal – civil division and criminal division


  Lord/Lady Justices of Appeal hear civil and criminal appeal cases in the relevant division.

  3 judges decide each appeal.

  They can allow the appeal which means the appeal is won.

  They can dismiss the appeal which means the appeal is lost.

  In criminal cases they can also review the sentence after appeal by either the defendant or referral by the Attorney-General.

  In criminal cases they can also order a retrial.
• Supreme Court - UKSC


  Justices of  the Supreme Court hear both civil and criminal appeals on points of law of general public importance.

  They can allow or dismiss the appeal.

  In the year 2021-2022 they heard 60 appeals and rejected 200 appeal requests.
• Separation of powers

  The UK is run by three separate powers: The legislature, the executive, and the judiciary
• The legislature


  These are the law makers.

  In the UK this is Parliament.  Made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch.

  All laws put forward by the government have to be passed through both Houses to become law.
• The Executive


  They administer the law and put forward the new laws. 

  In the UK this is the Government of the day and their agents which include the police and civil servants.
• The Judiciary


  Judges who decide cases and apply the law.

  The High Court decides Judicial Review cases where actions of the executive are often challenged.
• Separation of powers

  The judiciary must be independent from the other 2 arms of the state to ensure fair and impartial justice is delivered and that no one person/body of people hold all the power in society
• Why the separate powers?

  To ensure that no one body is in total control and to allow for a democratic society the 3 main sources of power (legislature, executive and judiciary) are kept separate.
• The doctrine of the separation of powers states that the judiciary must be independent from the other 2 arms of the state to ensure fair and impartial justice is delivered and that no one person/body of people hold all the power in society.
• Judicial Review is a procedure that allows anyone who has been affected by a decision or failure to act by a public authority to apply to the courts to rule whether its actions are lawful.
• Miller v The Prime Minister


  Gina Miller brought 2 cases against the executive in the run up to the Brexit vote. She was successful in both cases.

  She said the independent courts ‘act as a defence against potential abuses by the executive’.

  She won both cases in the High Court and UKSC
• The separation of powers and the judicary

  The doctrine provides for a system of checks and balances. 

  Judges are required to ignore any pressure from the legislature, the executive, other outside pressure and their own prejudices. 
• Limits on the role of the Lord Chancellor

  Since 2005, the Lord Chancellor (an MP so part of the legislature and sits in the Cabinet so part of the executive) is no longer head of the judiciary.

  This means he/she is no longer responsible for the appointment of judges.

  He does however remain as manager of the judiciary and the courts.
• Creation of the judicial Appointments commission (JAC)

  Constitutional Reform Act 2005 set up the Judicial Appointments Commission which keeps the appointment of judges separate from politics and the Lord Chancellor who used to appoint all judges.

  Prior to 2005 judges were appointed using a system of ‘secret soundings’ which lacked transparency and led to the establishment of a predominately male, white, upper-class judiciary.

  The JAC now appoints all judges.
• Creation of the Supreme Court

  Before the UKSC, the 12 judges (Law Lords) sitting the House of Lords decided appeals on points of law of general public importance.

  In 2009, the UKSC was created which removed the judges from the House of Lords and gave them their own court which is completely separate from the legislature and executive.  This has helped ensure the separation of powers is seen to be done.
• Salaries set by independent body


  This gives the judiciary financial independence from the legislature and executive.

  They are paid out of a consolidated fund which does not need parliament’s authorisation.
• Security of Tenure

  •Superior judges cannot be dismissed by the Government.  They can only be dismissed by the Monarch after a petition from both Houses of Parliament.

  •This means they can be independent in their decisions.

  They often have to deal with cases where the powers of the executive are challenged.

  In Miller (2017) the Supreme Court ruled there needed to be an Act of Parliament passed to trigger Brexit.
• Independence from the legislature and executive

  S3 Constitutional Reform Act 2005 states that the government must uphold the continued independence of the judiciary.

  In addition, the executive must not seek to influence judicial decisions.

  Full-time judges cannot be MP’s.
• Independence from the case

  Judges cannot try a case they have an interest in.

  For example, in Pinochet, a panel of judges decided to extradite General Pinochet to Chile to face charges of torture and murder.  The decision had to be put aside as one of the judges was a director of Amnesty International, one of the parties to the case.