Judiciary

Superior judges - supreme, appeal, high

  • Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - established the supreme court, meaning that judges were separate from parliament which created an independent judiciary

Inferior judges - crown, magistrates, county

Role

Preside over both civil (decide the issue of liability & the amount of damages to be awarded) & criminal (decide the sentence & jury decide the verdict) cases

s2 ECHR - must take into account decisions made by the ECtHR, but are not bound

s3 ECHR - as far as it’s possible to do so judges must interpret legislation in a way that upholds the convention rights

Training

Carried out by the Judicial College

3 elements:

  1. Knowledge of substantive law evidence, procedure

  2. The acquisition & improvement of judicial skills

  3. The social context within which judging occurs

  • First appointment - go through an introduction programme & will be assigned a mentor who is an experienced judge

  • Continue their professional development through the completion of seminars & e-learning to keep up to date with developments of legislation & procedure

  • Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - judicial posts are advertised & candidates must apply

Recruitment of judges is now managed by judicial Appointments Commission - completely separate from the political influence of the gov

Qualities recommended by the JAC for a good judge:

  1. Intellectual capacity

  2. Integrity, independence of mind, decisiveness, objectivity, willingness to learn

  3. Ability to understand & deal fairly

  4. Efficiency

Appointments are now made solely on merit, the amount of time a candidate has to have worked in law has been reduced to increase the pool of potential candidates & encourage applications from solicitors, barristers, tribunal judges

Retirement

Usually retire at 70

  • Superior judges have security of tenure - they should not be at risk of removal just because the gov may not agree with their decisions can be dismissed due to misbehaviour or inability/disciplinary reasons, they may also be under pressure to resign if their behaviour is unwarranted

e.g. Judge Peter Bowers refused to jail a pedophile for accessing images of child abuse in 2013, saying ‘he’d have a hard time in prison’

  • Dismissal - can be dismissed due to misbehaviour or inability/disciplinary reasons, they may also be under pressure to resign if their behaviour is unwarranted

~ Lord Chancellor - can dismiss inferior judges with consent of the Lord Chief Justice for misbehaviour or incapacity

~ The King - can remove senior judges when given a petition from both houses of parliament

Judges cannot be prosecuted or sued for anything they do in exercise of their judicial role - Sirros v Moore

Separation of powers

s3 Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - guarantees judicial independence & states this must be upheld at all times

Judges are free from influence from the legislature & gov, they can make decisions which may displease the gov without threat of dismissal, must be free from political bias

To ensure D gets a fair trial judges cannot have any political bias & influence from the legislature

Judges also hear applications for judicial review of gov decision making & strike down legislation that is ultra vires - requires a judge not to be afraid to find against the gov

Representation of judges

Female judges

  • 44% of all judges (underrepresented in senior roles)

  • 57% of magistrates

  • 41% of barristers

  • 54% of solicitors

  • 78% of chartered legal executives

Ethnic minorities

  • 13% of all judges (Underrepresented in senior roles)

  • 17% of barristers

  • 19% of solicitors

  • 12% of chartered legal executives

Age

  • 68% of all judges are 50 & over

  • 6% aged 70 & over

  • 41% of barristers

  • 31% of solicitors

  • 39% of chartered legal executives

  • 72% of new appointees are under 50

Judges tend to be older within senior roles due to their experience