Judges Flashcards
Lecture 2
What legislations were made as an alternative to arbitrary rule?
- Magna Carta (to favour the barons)
- The Common Law (representing the will of the community instead of monarch)
- The Bill of Rights (1689)
What are the origins of the British Constitution?
- The Glorious Revolution 1688 brings William III and Mary to throne
- Bill of Rights ends absolute monarchy + removing royal powers to suspend laws etc.
What are the two pillars of the British Constitution?
- Parliamentary sovereignty
- The rule of law
What is the role of the judiciary?
Protecting the rule of law by:
- Ensuring proper interpretation of laws
- AND holding the executive to account
What is Dicey’s rule of law principle?
1) Predominance of regular law excluding arbitrariness/wide discretionary power in government
2) Equality before the law
3) Private law principles extended to determine position of Crown + servants
Are judges the best people to chair Public Inquires based on Heather Hallet’s argument?
- In common law jurisdiction, judges are not investigators
- Facts and evidence used to make decisions comes from lawyers and the parties they represent
- They will not find new info themselves
How much trainings do judges get?
- Limited?
- However not just limited to legal developments in their relevant field
What does the Strategy of the Judicial College note that training should focus on?
- Substantive law, evidence and procedure and other expertise
- Acquisition and improvement of judicial skills (e.g., leadership and management)
- Social context of judging
What is the retirement age of judges?
Increased to March in 2022
What is judicial independence?
- Judges being independent and seen as independent
- Meaning independence from the pressure of Government, political groups and others
- Key is to ensure public confidence + separate from executive and legislature
What are the different roles in Magistrates Courts (Personnel)?
- District judges: full-time members who hear cases
- Magistrates: trained, unpaid members of the local community who work part-time and deal with less serious criminal cases
- Justices’ Legal Advisers: assist magistrates in court proceedings
What are lay magistrates?
- Used mainly within criminal jurisdiction
- Deal with crimes like minor assaults, theft, etc.
- Can give punishment such as fines, unpaid community work and prison up to 1 year
Why is the profession of magistrates in crisis?
- Aged profession: majority are 60+ (losing 1000 a year)
- Numbers now at 15000 compared to previous years
- Diversity - representing their communities?
- Inconsistency - slower than district judges?
Why is systemic bias in selection so significant?
- Prevented women, ethnic minorities and solicitors from applying successfully for judicial office
- Lord Bridge: they look for “chaps like us”
Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, what were the statutory duties?
- Select candidates solely on merit
- Select only people of good character
- Have regard to the need to encourage diversity
- Targeted 4 people whom are under-represented: women, minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities, solicitors
What are the central topics in the judiciary? (H.Diversity)
- Fairness
- Legitimacy
- Representation
- Perspective
What diversity issues arise for gender?
- 34% of judiciary are female overall (decreases as you go higher in hierarchy)
- Currently 2 female UKSC Justice
- 10 Lady Justices of Appeal
What other systemic problems arise for women?
- Career disruption
- Unattractive salaries relatively (particularly for senior candidates)
- Lack of senior candidates with right profile
What issues arise for those who are BAME?
- 10% of the court are BAME
- Seems unrepresentative of the community
What issues arise for those with disabilities?
- Very limited data
- JUSTICE found the legal profession to be inaccessible (e.g., struggle to secure training + inaccessibility of court buildings + micro aggressors in bench + struggle to secure reasomnable adjustments)
What issues arise for those who have a background of sexual orientation?
- Limited data (esp on Trans)
- JUSTICE found interviews with gay lawyers that sexual orientation did not impede promotion
What issues arise for those with a limited socio-economic background?
- Most senior-judges are privately educated (71% attended Oxbridge)
What have the Judicial Appointments Commission been doing?
- Research: pathways into judiciary (interview series from judges who followed non-traditional routes)
- Support: pilot scheme to provide advice to candidates
- Selection: increased diversity of lay panel members
- Culture: review of all leadership exercises, roleplay etc
What threats can be raised to the judiciary?
- Criticism for being too remote (“out of touch with ordinary people”)
- Attacks by the media -> making the role unpopular
- Criticism of being too political (“populism” pressures)
