british judiciary13

8/11/2019 British Judiciary13

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THE BRITISH

JUDICIARYUnit 4


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Preview

Hierarchy of courts

Hierarchy of judges

Qualifications, selection and appointmentof judges

Judicial titles

Judicial qualities Tenure of judges

Legal terms


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The Court System

The Supreme Court(House of Lords)

Court of Appeal,Criminal division

Court of Appeal,Civil Division

Crown Court High Court

Magistrates Court County Court


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Civil cases

1. The County Court

2. The High Court of Justice

3. The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) 4. The Supreme Court


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County Courts

First instance civil cases: contractdisputes, compensation claims, consumercomplaints about faulty goods or services,

bankruptcy cases


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The High Court of Justice


Queens Bench Division Chancery Division Family Division


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Queens Bench Division

The division of the High Court of Justicewhose principal business is the trial of civilactions based upon contract or tort


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Admiralty Court Commercial Court


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Admiralty Court

Civil actions relating to ships and the sea

Cases about collisions, damage to cargo,salvage


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Commercial Court

Commercial cases

Puisne judges with experience ofcommercial matters


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Chancery Division

The division of the High Court of Justicecreated by the Judicature Acts 1873-75 toreplace the Court of Chancery

Real property, trusts, administration ofestates


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Family Division

The division of the High Court concernedwith family proceedings and non-contentious probate matters


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Original jurisdiction (complex civil cases),

Appellate jurisdiction


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Appeals: civil cases

From the High Court cases may go on appeal tothe civil division of the Court of Appeal, whichcan reverse or uphold a decision of the lower

courts; its decisions bind all the lower civil courts Civil cases may leapfrog from the High Court to

the Supreme Court, bypassing the Court ofAppeal, when points of law of general public

importance are involved

Appellants must apply for leave to appeal


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Criminal courts

Magistrates Courts (95% criminal cases):petty crimes; minors;

3 lay magistrates or 1 district judge(formerly:stipendiary magistrate); no jury

The Crown Court: indictable offences; jurytrial


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Appeals: criminal cases

Magistrates courts: appeals to the CrownCourt

Crown Court: appeals to the Court ofAppeal

Appeals may sometimes go from the Courtof Appeal to the Supreme Court (formerly:House of Lords)


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The Supreme Court (formerly:

House of Lords)

12 judges appointed from judges andbarristers

The quorum, or minimum number, ofjudges for an appeal hearing is normallythree, but generally there is a sitting offive judges

typically sit as a committee to develop anddefine the law of the land


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Judicial appointments in England

and WalesJudicial office Court Number

Supreme Court Judges(Lords of Appeal in Ordinary(Law Lords)

(Supreme Court/House ofLords)

12

Lord Justices of Appeal Court of Appeal 37

High Court Judges High Court of Justice 107

Circuit Judges Crown Court and CountyCourt

638

Recorders Crown Court and CountyCourt

1352

District Judges (Civil) County Court 422

Deputy District Judges(Civil)

County Court 751

District Judges (StipendiaryMagistrates) (Criminal)

Magistrates Court 139

Magistrates, Justices of thePeace

Magistrates Court 28,000


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Magistrate

A justice of the peace sitting in aMagistrates Court

Most magistrates: lay persons; no formallegal qualifications, no payment for theirservices, give their time voluntarily.

Also: district judges (Magistrates Court)(formerly called stipendiary magistrates) inLondon and other major cities.


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Magistrates key qualities

Good character

Understanding and communication

Social awareness Maturity and sound temperament

Sound judgement

Commitment and reliability


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Appointment of magistrates

About 1,500 new lay magistrtes appointedby Lord Chancellor each year onrecommendations by the local advisory

committees

The committees: max. 12 members,magistrates and non-magistrates


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Magistrates duties

Try 97% of all criminal cases; deal withpreliminary hearings in the remaining 3%of criminal cases

bail applications and committalproceedings


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Magistrates duties

Civil matters: enforcing of debts owed tothe utilities (gas, electric and water), non-payment of the council tax and TV

licences

Criminal charges against young offenders

Family cases: orders for protection againstviolence, adoption orders


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District Judge

(Magistrates Court)

A barrister or solicitor of not less than 7years standing, appointed by the Queen, ,on the recommendation of the Lord

Chancellor, following a acompetitionadministered by the Judicial AppointmentCommission.

formerly (before 2000) called a stipendiarymagistrate


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District Judge

(Magistrates Court)

Metropolitan district judges sit inmagistrates courts for Inner London;other magistrates sit in large provincial

centres


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District Judge

(County courts)

In the county courts, a judicial officer appointedby the Queen, on the recommendation of theLord Chancellor, following a competition

administered by the Judicial AppointmentCommission, from solicitors or barristers of notless than 7 years standing.

Can try cases within a financial limit defined by

statute.

Part-time district judges- known as deputydistrict judges


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Recorder

A barrister or solicitor appointed as a part-time judge by the Queen on therecommendation of the Lord Chancellor,

after a competition administered by theJudicial Appointments Commission

Agree to make themselves available

regularly (for at least 4 weeks a year) Usually sit in the Crown Court but may sit

in the county courts or the High Court


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Circuit Judge

Any of the judges appointed by theQueen, on the recommendation of theLord Chancellor, following a competition

administered by the Judicial AppointmentsCommission, from among those who havehad a 10 year Crown Court or county

court advocacy qualification. They may, by invitation of the Lord

Chancellor, sit as High Court judges


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Circuit system

The system of dividing England and Walesinto regional circuits for the purpose ofcourt administration.

Consists of the South-Eastern, Western,Midland and Oxford, Wales and Chester,Northern and North-Eastern circuits


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Lord Justice of Appeal

A judge of the Court of Appeal.

The Lord (and Lady) Justices areappointment by the Queen on therecommendation of a selection panelconvened by the Judicial AppointmentsCommission from those holding the post

of a High Court judge or those with a 10-year High Court qualification

S C t J d


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Supreme Court Judges

(Lords of Appeal in Ordinary/

Law Lords)

Up to 12 persons, holders of high judicialoffice or practising barristers of at least 15years standing;

Under the Constitutional Reform Actthese functions transferred to a newSupreme Court: the Law Lords- removed

from the legislature


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Lord Chancellor

Traditionally, the head of the judiciary, agovernment minister (in charge of theLord Chancellors Department, now theDepartment for Constitutional Affairs), andSpeaker of the House of Lords (theConstitutional Reform Act 2005 devolvedthis function onto the Lord Speaker)

Judicial, executive, legislative functions


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Lord Chancellor

Appoints magistrates and higher judicialofficials; since 2005: Judicial

Appointments Commission

Appointed by the Prime Minister Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005

his judicial functions transferred to the

Lord Chief Justice


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The Constitutional Reform Act

2005 A duty on government ministers to uphold the

independence of the judiciary, barring them from tryingto influence judicial decisions through any special accessto judges

Reform of the post of Lord Chancellor, transferring hisjudicial functions to the President of the Courts ofEngland and Walesa new title given to the Lord ChiefJustice. The Lord Chief Justice is now responsible for the

training, guidance and deployment of judges andrepresents the views of the judiciary of England andWales to Parliament and ministers


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2005 An independent Supreme Court established, separate

from the House of Lords and with its own independentappointments system, staff, budget and building

An independent Judicial Appointments Commission,

responsible for selecting candidates to recommend forjudicial appointment to the Secretary of State for Justice.The Judicial Appointments Commission ensures thatmerit remains the sole criterion for appointment and the

appointments system is modern, open and transparent


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2005A Judicial Appointments and Conduct

Ombudsman, responsible for investigatingand making recommendations concerning

complaints about the judicialappointments process, and the handling of

judicial conduct complaints within the

scope of the Constitutional Reform Act.


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Mandatory requirements for judicial

offices

An Act of Parliament lays down themandatory requirements for most judicialoffices

Candidates must have practised as alawyer or judge for a specified time

The hierarchical structure of the courts

informs the process of selection to thejudiciary


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Judicial appointments

Experience gained as a judge in a lowercourtone of the qualifications forappointment to a higher court

Senior appointments to the Court ofAppeal and the High Courtmade by theQueen following the recommendation ofthe Lord Chancellor, on the advice of theLord Chancellor, following a competitionadministered by the Judicial AppointmentsCommission

Qualifications selection and


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Qualifications, selection and

appointment of judges

Court Judge Qualification Role

SupremeCourt

Supreme CourtJudges/

Lords of Appealin Ordinary

Law Lords

15-yearqualification

Appeals onpoints of law

Civil andcriminal cases

Court ofAppeal

Lord Justices ofAppeal

10 yearqualifiction

Hear appeals

Criminal casesagainst convictionand/or sentence

Civil cases on thefinding and/oramount awarded

High Court High Courtjudges (puisne

judges)

10 year

qualification

First instancecases, some

appeal work


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Qualifications, selection and

appointment of judges

Court Judge Qualification Role

Crown Court Circuit judges

Recorders

10 yearqualification

Try cases with ajury

Decide the law

Pass sentence

County Court Circuit judges

District judges

10 yearqualification

7 yearqualification

Civil casesliability andremedy

Small claims

MagistratesCourts

District judges 7 yearqualification

Criminal casesdecide law andverdict

Pass sentence

Some family


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Titles

Court,

Profession

Title Form of address

Queens Counsel Peter Brown QC

Circuit Judge His Honour JudgeBrown (QC)

Your Honour

Court of Appeal Lord JusticeBrown, or TheRight HonourableSir Peter Brown

My Lord, YourLordship

Supreme Court The RightHonourable Lord

Brown

My Lord, YourLordship


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Training of judges

The Judicial Studies Board (JSB)responsible for the training of judges, laymagistrates, and members of Tribunals in

England and Wales

JSB organises: an induction course; visitsto penal establishments (prison); meetings

with personnel from the Probation Service


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Training of judges

A period of sitting in on the Benchthejudges area of the Court with a CircuitJudge

In his first week of appointment -supervised by a Circuit Judge

Practical guidelines for judgesset out in

Bench Books

B h b k J di i l C ll


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Bench book: Judicial College

Prospectus 2014-15 For High Court judges:

Administrative law seminar

on 2 June 2014

Civil law seminars starting

on 19 May 2014 and 21 May 2014

Seminar for judges sitting in the Queens Bench

Division on 29 September

2014

High Court seminar in

family law starting on

12 January 2015

Serious crime seminar

starting on 22 Septembe 2014


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Judicial qualities

Intellectual capacity

Personal qualities including integrity,independence of mind, sound judgement,decisiveness, objectivity and willingness tolearn

Ability to understand and deal fairly

Authority and communication skills

Efficiency

S i f f i


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Security of tenure of superior

judges

Superior judgessecurity of tenure;cannot be dismissed by the LordChancellor or the Government

Hold office while of good behaviour

Can only be removed by the Monarchfollowing a petition presented by both

Houses of Parliament


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Tenure of inferior judges

Lord Chancellor has the power to dismissinferior judges for incapacity ormisbehaviour


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Tenure of judges

Judges Courts Tenure

Law Lords House ofLords

whilst of goodbehaviour

Lords Justicesof Appeal

Court ofAppeal

whilst of goodbehaviour

High Courtjudges

High Court whilst of goodbehaviour


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Tenure of judges

Judges Courts Tenure

Circuit judges Crown Court

County Court

Can be dismissedby Lord Chancellor

District judges County Court

Magistrates Court

Can be dismissedby Lord Chancellor

Recorders Crown Court

(some in CountyCourt)

Appointed for 5

years; LordChancellor candecide not to re-appoint


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Retirement

Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act1993: all judges have to retire at the ageof 70


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Legal terms

Admiralty Court

Admiralski sud, Pomorski sud

Commercial Court

Trgovaki sud

Tort = civil wrong

Graanski delikt

Real property

nekretnine


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Legal terms

Trust

Prijenos imovine na povjerenika,fiducijarni odnos

Estate

Ostavinska masa

Probate Sudska ovjera oporuke


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Legal terms

To reverse a decision

Preinaiti odluku

Reversal of judgement = the alteration of

judgement on appeal Preinaka presude; ponitenje presude

To uphold a decision

Potvrditi odluku (nieg suda)

Leave to appeal

Doputenje ulaganja albe


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Legal terms

Magistrate

Mirovni sudac, neplaeni sudac

District judge

Okruni sudac

Circuit judge

Sudac koji sudi u razliitim mjestima istesudske oblasti


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Legal terms

Recorder

Profesionalni sudac koji zasjeda s djelominimradnim vremenom na kaznenom sudu

Puisne judge Sudac na Visokom sudu (High Court)

Lord Chancellor

Lord kancelar (obavlja poslove ministrapravosua), ranije: predsjedavajui Gornjegdoma


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Legal terms

Bail application

Molba za odreivanje jamevine

Sitting

Suenje, roite, rasprava The Bench and the Bar

Suci i odvjetnici

To be on the Bench

Biti sudac


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The court structure: Exercise 1

Complete the following: 1. Claims of lesser value will start in a ___.

There are 250 of these around the country.They can also deal with divorce and bankruptcy

matters. 2. Matters of important legal dispute arising in

the Crown Court may be appealed to the _____. 3. From the Court of Appeal, there can be an

appeal to the ____on fact or law, but usuallyappeal is only allowed on matters of legalimportance.


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Exercise 1 (cont.)

4 If the case involves a serious crime, it is heardin the ___ (there is only one____but it hasabout 70 centres around the jurisdiction).

5. In less serious criminal cases (which comprise

over 90% of criminal cases), the case is sent fortrial in one of over 400 ___. 6. More substantial civil claims (over 25,000)

are heard in the____.

7. Under the system of appeals in civil cases, itis possible to appeal from a County Court or theHigh Court to the____


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Key

Claims of lesser value will start in a CountyCourt. There are 250 of these around thecountry. They can also deal with divorce and

bankruptcy matters. Matters of important legaldispute arising in the Crown Court may beappealed to the Court of Appeal (CriminalDivision).From the Court of Appeal, there can

be an appeal to the Supreme Courton fact orlaw, but usually appeal is only allowed onmatters of legal importance.


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Key

If the case involves a serious crime, it isheard in the Crown Court(there is onlyone Central Criminal Court but it has

about 70 centres around the jurisdiction).In less serious criminal cases (whichcomprise over 90% of criminal cases), the

case is sent for trial in one of over 400Magistrates Courts.


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Key

More substantial civil claims (over L25,00)are heard in the High Court.

Under the system of appeals in civil cases,

it is possible to appeal from a CountyCourt or the High Court to the Court of

Appeal (Civil Division)

Fill in the missing words: barris ter bench clerk


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Fill in the missing words: barris ter, bench , clerk,

jud ic iary , judge, judgement, ju ry , pres iden t,

pro secutor , recorder

The ___are perhaps the most prominent amongst thoseinvolved in running the court. The largest group of___are___, ordinary citizens who are not legalprofessionals but are appointed to ensure that the localcommunity is involved in the running of the legal

system. They sit as a group of three (as a ___).Magistrates sit with a legally qualified___, who canadvise on points of law. A case is presented by the___,who takes over the case from the police who havealready charged the defendant (or accused) withspecified crimes.


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barr ister, bench, clerk, jud ic iary, judge, judgement,

ju ry , pres ident, prosecu to r , recorder

In the upper courts, the judges are almostall former ____. But many cases are alsoheard by ____ - part-time barristers from

private practice. The Crown Court___consists of 12 persons, aged 18 to 70.

Match the two parts of the sentences and complete the


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gaps with the following words: appeal/appellate, c laiman t,

hear/try , tried/heard:

1. The ___courts can 2. An appellant must get

3. In a civil action, a___who has suffered

4. Magistrates generally___cases of petty crimeas

5. Indictable offences are

appeal/appellate c laimant hear/try


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appeal/appellate, c laimant , hear/try ,

tr ied/heard:

A) a court of first instance

B) normally___in the Crown Court

C) reverse or uphold decisions of lowercourts.

D) harm or injury seeks a remedy.

E) leave to____before taking a case to ahigher court.


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The court system: Exercise 2

Verb Nounevent oraction

Noun - person

sit 0

appeal

hear 0

try 0

claim


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Judges: Exercise

Match the judicialoffices in the box withthe required

qualifications below(1-4). Bear in mindthe hierarchicalstructure of the

courts.

Lord of Appeal inOrdinary

Lord Justice of Appeal

Circuit JudgeDistrict Judge(Magistrates Court)


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Exercise (cont.)

1. must have been qualified as a lawyer for at leastseven years

2. must have been qualified for ten years, althoughthree years service as a full-time District Judge is

allowed 3. must have been qualified as a lawyer for at least 15

years and is usually drawn from judges in the Courts ofAppeal in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and inteh Court of Session in Scotland

4. the statutory qualification is at least ten years in theHigh Court as a lawyer and, in practice, to be a HighCourt Judge.


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Answers

1. District Judge (Magistrates Court)

2. Circuit Judge

3. Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

4. Lord Justice of Appeal


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The court system: additional


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The court system: additional

information

www.courtservice.gov.uk

www.lexadin.nl/wlg/courts/nofr/courts.htm
http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/http://www.courtservice.gov.uk/


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Judges: additional information

www.jsboard.co.uk

www.dea.gov.uk/judicial

www.judiciary.gov.uk
http://www.jsboard.co.uk/http://www.dea.gov.uk/judicialhttp://www.dea.gov.uk/judicialhttp://www.jsboard.co.uk/


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Research

Look up the judicial websitewww.judiciary.gov.uk
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/


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Research

1. Look up the names of the judges in theSupreme Court. Choose any two and look attheir biographies. Find out the following matters:

A) Which school did they go to? B) At which university did they get their degree?

When did they first become a judge?

When did they become a judge in the SupremeCourt?


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Research

2. Find out how many woman judgesthere are in the Court of Appeal.

3. Find out how many ethnic minority

judges there are in the High Court.

british judiciary13

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