Judiciary

• District Judges

  Lowest level of full time judge.

  County Court (Civil) - Deal with small claims (under £10,000).

  Magistrates’ Court (Criminal) - Sit on their own, decide facts and law. Decide sentence if D pleads guilty or is found guilty. May also sit to hear family cases.
• Recorders

  Part-time judges. Appointed for a period of five years.

  Main role is to try criminal cases in Crown Court but can also hear civil cases in the County Court. Only sit in Court for about one month of the year. For the rest of the year they will work as a solicitor or barrister, or as a legal academic.
• Circuit Judges

  County court (Civil) - Sit on their own, decide the law and facts of the case. Decide who should win the case. Decide amount of damages that should be awarded.

  Crown court (Criminal) - Sit with a jury who decide the facts of the case. Decide law and pass sentence.
• High Court Judges

  High Court (Civil) - Assigned to one of the three divisions. Try cases in the first instance, hear evidence, decide the law, decide damages. Hear some appeals. Judges in the KBD hear some appeals that involve a point of law. When hearing appeals they will sit in a panel of two or three judges.
• High Court Judges

  High Court (Criminal) - Judges from the KBD also sit to hear criminal trials. They will sit with a jury who will decide the facts of the case. Judge will decide law and pass a sentence if guilt is found.
• Lord Justices of Appeal

  Hear appeals in Court of Appeal. Deal with cases in both criminal and civil divisions. Usually sit in a panel of 3. May be a panel of 5.

  Criminal Division: Decides whether appeal should be allowed. Quarter of leave to appeal requests are granted. Usually hears about 1600 criminal appeal cases each year.

  Civil Division: over 1000 civil appeals heard each year. Appeals against the finding of liability or the remedy awarded.
• Justices of the Supreme Court

  Hear about 70 cases each year. Hear both criminal and civil appeals. Civil appeals involve complicated and technical areas of law such as planning law or tax law. Usually sit as a panel of 5 or 7, must always sit as an uneven panel to enable a majority verdict.

  Case can only be appealed to the Supreme Court if there is a point of law of general importance. Outcome becomes precedent for all lower courts to follow.
• P- Only the most experienced judges can sit in the highest courts meaning D’s in these cases are benefitting from the best legal experience.


  DP- Superior judges generally come from upper levels of society, many attending either Oxford or Cambridge university meaning they are well educated.

  WDP- Inferior judges, representative of society, no district judge in 2007 had been to private school.
• P- Recent changes to qualifications for lower judicial roles has created more diversity. 


  DP- usually dominated by elderly, white, upper class males (not representative of society). few women judges in the upper ranks, fewer from ethnic minorities. Unusual for judge to be appointed under the age of 40.

  WDP- Judicial Appointments Commission led to improved diversity.
• P- May not be able to relate well to the D’s they are trying due to lack of diversity.


  DP- Early 1990s, no women judges in CofA. Only 3 in the High Court. System of selection done by Judicial Appointments Commission led to increased diversity. 2016, 8126 CoA judges were female.

  WDP- In 1990s, no BAME judges in CoA. Increased in 2016, 3 High Court Judges and 17 Circuit Judges were BAME.
• P- Training and expertise required for some of the judicial roles are very limited and basic. Means some judges don’t have the knowledge to fulfil their role effectively.


  DP- In other countries, becoming a judge is a career choice made by a student once qualified. Won’t usually practice as a lawyer as they do in the UK. Most judges are a certain age.

  WDP- In other legal systems the judicial training is very specific, focusing on skills and knowledge they need. Able to fulfil their role.
• Tenure of the Judiciary

  To be permanently appointed to a post / position.
• Security of Tenure for Superior Judges

  Superior Judges cannot be removed by the Government:

  Act of Settlement 1700 = Senior judges can hold their judicial office whilst of ‘good behaviour’.

  Senior Courts Act 1981 = Protects tenure of High Court Judges and Lord Justices of Appeal.

  Constitutional Reform Act 2005 = Protects tenure of Justices of the Supreme Court.
• Security of Tenure For Superior Judges

  Can only be removed by the Monarch.

  The Lord Chancellor can declare vacant the judicial office of any superior judge.

  Usually what happens instead is: pressure is put on a superior judge to resign.
• Security of Tenure for Inferior Judges

  Lord Chancellor can dismiss an inferior judge with permission of the Lord Chief of Justice for incapacity or misbehaviour.

  A criminal conviction for dishonesty would lead to dismissal due to behaviour.
• Security of Tenure for Inferior Judges

  The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - allows the Lord Chief Justice to suspend or remove a person from a judicial office if they are subject to criminal proceedings or have been convicted.
• Security of Tenure for Inferior Judges

  Judicial Complaints Office - Investigate complaints about the personal conduct of judges.

  Suspended (or disciplined) judges can complain to an Ombudsman if the procedure is not followed correctly or fairly.
• Retirement

  All judges are required to retire at age 70 since the enactment of the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993.

  However, superior judges can be given authorisation to continue sitting as a judge until age 75.