2. Judicial Roles:
There are many different types of judges sitting in courts or tribunals, each hearing different types of cases, and with
different powers to use when deciding the outcome of a case.
Judges, magistrates and tribunal members sit in three main jurisdictions - civil, criminal and family.
• Recorder The more senior the Judge the more money they earn and the
• District Judge longer they will have to serve as a lawyer to earn their role.
• High Court Judge
• Circuit Judges
• President of the Family Division
• President of the Queen’s Bench Division
• Lord Justices of Appeal
• Justices of Supreme Court
• Master of the Rolls (appointed role)
• Lord Chief Justice (appointed role)
3. Qualifications/Training
• Relevant Legal Qualification
• (ILEX)
• The Tribunal, Court and Enforcement Act 2007 (lowers the length of time
needed to be a judge and recognises the importance of of experience such
as ADR).
• Human Awareness Training since 1993
•
4. Separation of Powers
It is vital that each judge is able to decide cases solely on the evidence presented in court by the
parties and in accordance with the law. Only relevant facts and law should form the basis of a judge’s
decision. Only in this way can judges discharge their constitutional responsibility to provide fair and
impartial justice; to do justice as Lord Brougham, a 19th Century Lord Chancellor, put it ‘between
man and man’ or as Lord Clarke, former Master of the Rolls put it more recently in 2005, ‘between
citizen and citizen or between citizen and the state’.
The responsibilities of judges in disputes between the citizen and the state have increased together
with the growth in governmental functions over the last century. The responsibility of the judiciary
to protect citizens against unlawful acts of government has thus increased, and with it the need for
the judiciary to be independent of government. (see Constitutional Reform Act 2005)
5. Constitutional Reform Act 2005The Lord Chancellor’s role changed dramatically on 3 April 2006, as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
For the first time in almost 900 years, judicial independence is now officially enshrined in law.
The key changes brought in by the act include:
•A duty on government ministers to uphold the independence of the judiciary, barring them from trying to influence judicial
decisions through any special access to judges
•Reform of the post of Lord Chancellor, transferring his judicial functions to the President of the Courts of England and Wales – a
new title given to the Lord Chief Justice. The Lord Chief Justice is now responsible for the training, guidance and deployment of
judges and represents the views of the judiciary of England and Wales to Parliament and ministers
•An independent Supreme Court has been established, separate from the House of Lords and with its own independent
appointments system, staff, budget and building
•An independent Judicial Appointments Commission, responsible for selecting candidates to recommend for judicial appointment to
the Secretary of State for Justice. The Judicial Appointments Commission ensures that merit remains the sole criterion for
appointment and the appointments system is modern, open and transparent
•An Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman, responsible for investigating and making recommendations concerning
complaints about the judicial appointments process, and the handling of judicial conduct complaints within the scope of the
Constitutional Reform Act.
What has not changed is the way judgments are made or given; after all, judges have been independent in the way they work for
centuries.
The real differences are in the day-to-day management of the judiciary, the way judges are appointed and the way complaints are
dealt with. These are now truly independent, to enhance accountability, public confidence and effectiveness.
6. Diversity of the Judiciary
• Dominated by elderly, white, upper-class males
• Very few women judges
• Very few ethnic minority judges
• It is unusual for a judge to be under 40.
• The first woman to be appointed in the High Court was in 1992, the first woman to
be appointed in the House of Lords (now Supreme Court) was in 2004. In the
same year the first ethnic minority judge was appointed in the High Court.
7. Magistrates Judges
• No Legal Qualifications but must have ‘judicial’ qualities
• There are about 29,0000 Magistrates in the UK
• 1,500 appointed each year by the Lord Chancellor
• Aged between 18 and 65 (only 4% are aged under 40)
• They must be prepared to commit 26 half days a year (unpaid)
• The position dates back to 1195 to Richard I when he appointed ‘keepers of
the peace’.
8. For further information
• http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/
• http://www.magistrates-association.org.uk/
• http://www.legislation.gov.uk/
• http://www.bailii.org/
