Judiciary Flashcards
What is the judiciary divided into
Superior judges (high court and above) and inferior judges (lower courts), which affect training, work and terms in which they hold office
Give the three sub types of superior judges
Justices of the Supreme Court
Lord justices of appeal in the court of appeal
high court judges (also known as puisne) who sit in three divisions of high court
Who is the head of the judiciary
Lord Chief Justice
Which five sub sections make up inferior judges
Circuit judges who sit in crown and county court
Recorders who are part time judges who sit in crown or county
District judges who hear small claims in the county court
District judges in mags
Tribunal judges
What are the qualifications to be a member of the judiciary
Set out in Courts and legal services Act 1990 as amended by Tribunals, courts and Enforcement act 2007. Qualifications to become a judge are based on legal qualifications plus relevant legal experience for number of years
How are you selected to become part of the judiciary
Up to 2005 done by Lord Chancellor and was secretive and depended on political influence
Changed by Constitutional reform act 2005 which established Judical Appointments Commission to deal with selection of judges. Commission advertises vacancies for judicial posts, interviews applicants and recommends to Lord chancellor who should be appointed
Who appoints the judiciary
The queen which keeps selection and appointment separate from government
Role of justices of the Supreme Court
Hear about 100 cases annually (appeals), civil or crim but majority are civil. Only appealed to SC if point if law involved ie planning or tax law for civil. Sit as an uneven panel (minimum of three). All points ruled on become precedent
Role of lord justices of appeal
All concerned with appeals. Sit in civil and crim. hear over 7000 applications annually. Dealt with by one judge. Quarter of this gets leave to appeal, full court then has about 1800 crim appeals to hear and over 3000 civil ie appeals about remedy awarded. Usually sits as panel do three and sometimes of five in important cases. Rulings become precedent that smaller courts must follow
Role of high court judges
To try cases of first instance (first time cases in court). Sit on their own. Also here some appeals, mainly from civil cases tried in county court. QB Division also hear crim appeals from mags court by a special case stated method. Appeals on law only. When sitting to hear appeals there’s a panel of two judges. QB also sit in crown to hear crim trials with a jury
Inferior judges roles
Circuit: sit in county to hear civil and crown to hear crim, and if crim then also with a jury
Recorders: part time judges appointed for five years. Mainly in crown to hear crime cases but some county to hear civil.
District: sit in county court to deal with small claims (under 10k) and also cases for larger amounts
District judges in mags: try crim cases in mag courts. Sit alone and decide fact and law.
What is the security of tenure of superior judges
Cannot be dismissed by gov as stated in Act of Settlement 1701 which allows them to hold office while behaving well. Before 1700 could be dismissed at will. Provision is now contained in Senior Courts Act 1981 for high court judges and Lord justices of appeal and the Constitutional reform act 2005 for Supreme Court. Can only be removed by a monarch following a petition from both houses of P. Power to remove superior judge never used for English judge but used for Irish one in 1830, Jonah Barrington who had misappropriated £700 from court funds
What’s the tenure for inferior judges
Don’t have same security and lord chancellor with permission of Lord Chief Justice can dismiss inferior judges for incapacity or misbehaving, ie criminal conviction for dishonesty as seen in 1970s for case of Bruce Campbell (circuit judge) who evaded customs duty on cigs and whisky. Also happened in 2014 when Constance briscoe a recorder was convicted and jailed for perverting course of justice by altering her witness statement and lying
Complaints investigated by Judicial Conduct Investigations Office and if true then reported to LC or LCJ. Can be warned or removed from office. Some judges have been removed for being an undischarged bankrupt or failing to pay child maintneve and therefore given a suspended committal to prison order
What is immunity from suit
Immunity from prosecution for any acts they carry out in performance of their judical function, also have immunity from being sued in civil cases for actions taken or decisions made in courts of judical duties, seen in Sirros v Moore (1975) also immune from being used for defamination for things they say about witnesses or parties in a case. Allows judge to not fear repercussions and have complete independence. Only liable if no jurisdiction to do what he did or wasn’t acting in judicial capacity
What is being independent from the executive
Superior judges can’t be dismissed by gov as they are separate from it. Guaranteed under s 3 of Constitutional reform act 2005. States LC other ministers in gov or admin of justice must uphold the continued independence of the judiciary. States LC and other ministers must not seek to influence particular judical decisions. Judges recommended for appointment by Judical Appointments commissions helps keep judges independent from executive
