Judges

superior judges

justices of the supreme court deal with cases of the greatest public importance

lord justices of appeal sit in the court of appeal . CA has a civil and criminal division

high court judges deal with all major civil cases in high court and major criminal cases e.g murder in crown court

inferior judges

circuit judges deal with criminal cases in the crown court and civil cases in the county court

district judges in the mags court hear criminal cases in big cities instead of lay magistrates. in the county court they hear small claims under 10000

red judge

high court judges dealing with criminal cases are known as red judges because of the colour of their robes

high court judges wearing civil cases wear a gown with red rabs at the neck

purple judge

circuit judges wear purple robes accompanies by a red sash in criminal cases and a lilac sash in civil cases

role of judges in court of first instance

ensure the hearing is carried out fairly

decide questions of law

decisions made by a single judge

role of judges in civil courts

decide outcome and award damages

in small claims helping parties put their case and case management

role of judges in criminal courts

mags courts district judges decide verdict and sentence ad well as bail

crown court sum up for jury , sentence

role of judges in appeal courts

decide whether the law was correclty decided at first instance

decide points of law in CA and SC hearings

judicial review including powers under HRA 1998

decisions made by 3 or more judges sitting together

seperation of powers

three functions of the state must be kept independent of one another

legislature -power to make and change law

judiciary-power to interpret and enforce law

executive-government power to put the law into action

judicial independence

ensures fairness

judges are free from outsdie policital influence and can protect citizens against unlawful acts of government and can maintain rule of law

e.g SC ruling in 2019 that it was unlawful for the PM to prorogue parliament

reform of the post of lord chancellor

LC is a politician and head of the ministry of justice

no longer a judge pr head of judiciary

no longer involved in appointing judges

lord chancellor remains as the head of ministry of justice but his or her powers and links to judiciary have been removed to satisfy the principle of the separation of powers

judges are independents in

security of tenture

immunity from suit

independence from executive

independence from parliament

independence from the case

security of tenture

superior judges-can only be removed by the monarch following a petitions from both houses of parliament

inferior judges-can be removed by the lord of chancellor and lord chief justice for incapacity or ,misbehaviour (constitutional reform act 2005)

immunity from suit

sirros v moore

judges enjoy protection from being sued in negligence

parties can appeal if unhappy with a decision

a judge should be free to make decisions without fear or favour affection or ill will

independence from executive

judicial appointments commission was established by the constitutional reform act 2005 to deal with the selection of judges

previously this was done by lord of chancellor

the JAC is responsible for filling over 500 judicial posts a year

JAC dies not select magistrates or supreme court justices

independence from parliament

judges cannot be MPs

judges must apply the law made by parliament

the supreme court replaced the judicial committe of the house of lords

independence from the case

HL decision to extradite pinochet from alleged crimes against humanity had to be set aside as one of the judges had links to amnesty international

advantages of judicial independendence

protects individuals from abuse of power by government e.g belmarsh detainees case where sc declaredthe terrorism act 2001 incompatible with human rights because it allowed persons to be detained without trial , the government were forced to amend it

allows impartial judicial review of government decisions e.g miller v prime minister the sc ruled that boris johnsons advice to the queen to prorogue parliament was unlawful

ensures fairness and gives the public confidence e.g pinochet

independent appointment ensures selection is solely based on merit

what makes a good judge

undersntading and fairness

authority and communication

intellectual capacity

personal qualities

efficiency

women in the judiciary

increase of women in the lower ranks now 25% of circuit judges are femal

2017-lady justice hale (first demale president of the uk supreme court

career judiciary

average age to the high court is 40s 50s

in europe there is a career judiciary whose members train to be judges from an earlier age rather than practice as lawyers first

this allows for judges to have more training in the specific skills they need as judges

there may be a problem though that judges would then be seen as too closely linked to the government as civil servants as in the uk they are generally considered independent