legal personnel Flashcards
Areas, workplace, activities, Promotion, Rights of Audience
role of barristers
- areas of law -> commercial, crimina, PI, family etc
- workplace - chambers, CPS, 60+% London, Self-employed
- Activities -> advise, legal research, write opinions, negotiate settlements , draft documents
- Promotion - KC after 10 yrs + successful application
- full rights of audience in all courts
regulation of barristers
Bar Standards Board (BSB)
- standards of entry
- Code of Conduct
- disciplinary action
Representative body - Barristers
General Council of the Bar
- promote high quality & specialist services
- express Bars view @ gov.
role of solicitors
- meet w. clients
- take instructions from clients
draft letters contracts + other legal doc. - negotiation
- advocacy -> tribunals and lower courts -> rights of audience
- can apply higher rights of audiene (solicitors higher rights of audience Reg. 2011)
- workplace -> private practice, CPS, gov., businesses/org.
regulation of solicitors
Solicitors Regulatory Authority
- Training standards
- Code of Conduct
- Deal w/ complaints
Representative body - Solicitors
Law society
role of legal executives
- trained lawyer that specialises in one type of law
i.e conveyancing, family, probate, PI
regulation of legal executives
chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx)
make a complaint against a barrister
- Head of Chambers using their complaints procedure process
- BSB if not resolved
- Disciplinary tribual
- Legal Ombudsman
- Sue -> negligence of written advice/opinions - Saif Ali v Sydney Mitchell (1990)
-> negligence of advocacy - Hall v Simons (2000)
make a complaint against a solicitor
- solicitor firm complaints procedure
- Solicitors Regulatory Authority
- Disciplinary tribunal
- Legal Ombudsman
- Sue -> negligence White v Jones (1995)
role of judges in court of first instance (at trial)
-ensure hearings are fair
- Decide questions of law
- 1 Judge
role of judges in Appeal Courts
- law applied correctly @ first instance
- PoL CA + SC
- Judicial Review (under HRA 1998)
- 3 +
role of judges in civil courts
- allocate correct track
- decide outcomes + damages
- small claims - help parties put case
- case management
role of judges in criminal courts
Mgs Ct:
DJ/MGS Verdict + sentence
CC:
sum up for Jury + sentence
inferior judges
Judges in courts below the HC
superior judges
Judges in HC or above
role of judges - supreme court justices
- superior
- Supreme Court
- work = 100 cases/yr + civil/criminal appeals of PoL of General Public importance
- panel of 5 (potentially more)
role of judges - Lord/Lady Justices of Appeal
- Superior
- CofA
- civil/criminal appeals PoL
- Panel of 3
Role of judges - High court Judges
- Superior
- HC + CC
- Main task -> complex civil cases i.e Multi track + appeals from CoC as 1
- task -> Criminal cases CC -> 1 + jury
- Appeals from Mags’ -> 1 + 2 Mags
role of judges - circuit judges
- Inferior
- CoC + CC
- Serious criminal cases -> 1 + Jury
- Civil cases -> i.e fast track -> 1
role of judges - district judges
- inferior
- CoC + Mag
- civil cases i.e tort and contract i.e small claims track (under £10,000)
- criminal cases -> summary + some TEW
role of judges - Magistrates
- inferior court
- 97% of criminal cases
- Summary + TEW
- Early Admin Hearing
- Panel of 3
role of judges - tribunal judge
- inferior
- deal w/ certain types of disputes that cant be dealt with in court
- 1 + 2 lay members
background, education, women, ethnicity, age
is the judiciary ‘out of touch’ - yes
- background - White, male, upper class and elderly (majority) -> very privileged lives
- Education - (c.80%) oxbridge & fee-paying schools esp. superior judges
- Women - HC, CA, SC= 1/4 women
- Ethnicity - 8% of court judiciary
- Age- 76% 50+
background, education, women, ethnicity, age
is the judiciary - ‘out of touch’ - no
-Background - changes to selection process i.e eligibility of appointment of fellows of CILEx
- Education - Provided training on social issues
- Women - 43% of judiciary female (2024)
- Ethnicity - strong presence ethnic minority judges in inferior courts
- Age - requires considerable experience which comes w/ age
UK separation of powers
- legislature (parliment) -> make & change law
– Judiciary -> interpret & enforce - Executive (Gov.) pwr to put law into effect + admin nations affairs
lord chancellor reforms
- no longer a judge
- no longer head of judiciary
- no longer central to appointing judges
- No longer automatic speaker of HoL
advantages of judicial independence
- protect individuals from abuse of pwr by Parliament
- impartial judiciary review
- Fairness & public confidence
- Appointed independently
advantages of judicial independence : protect individuals
-> uphold RoL -> Belmarsh Detainees’ case SC issued ‘declaration of incompatibility’ under HRA 1998
-> essential for a functioning democrracy
advantages of judicial independence: Impartial Judicial review
- mins act in accordance to law
- free to reach a politically unpopular decision w/out fear of sanction
- i.e Brexit Process Miller V Prime Minister -> unlawful suspension of Parliament as it had prevented parliamentary scrutiny before leaving EU
advantages of judicial independence: fairness & public confidence
- Clear grounds for appeal if judge has interest in a case i.e pinochet -> ex-amnesty international director -> deciding on extradition hearing
- Decide solely on evidence in court & accordance of law
- freedom of interference from litigants, state & media
advantages of judicial independence: independently appointed
- merit
- transparently
- address prev. concerns that system had been oopen to political bias
- hope that it will become more diverse
-security of tenure
how is judicial independence achieved
- Security of tenure
- Immunity from suit
- Independence from executive
- Independence from parliament
- Independence from case
Judicial independence: security of tenure
-> senior judges cannot be removed by Gov. must be removed by monarch w/ petition from Parliament & inferior judges can only be dismissed with consent of Lord Chief Justice for incapacity/misbehaviour
Judicial independence: immunity from suit
- cannot be sued for actions/decisions in course of judicial duty (Sirros V Moore)-. judge wrongly ordered someones detention -> CA took no action believed he had acted in good faith despite action being unlawful
Judicial independence: Independence from Executive
s.3 Constitutional reform act -> legal duty gov. mins. to uphold indp. + bars them from trying to influence decisions
- Judicial Appointment commission -> select on merit -> not secretive process of LC (a politician)
Judicial independence: from Parliament
- Full time judges cannot be MPs
- avoid making statements on political issues
- Supreme Court main to seperate judiciary -> prev HoL highest court of appeal in UK
Judicial independence: From case
- unbiased & unconnected from case
- Pinochet case -> extradition hearings one of Judges been a director of Amnesty International -> man cannot be judge in own cause
role of barrister
- Preparing cases for court.
- Drafting legal documents.
- Preparing Counsel’s opinion.
- Holding case conferences.
- Negotiating settlements.
- Advocacy – representing clients in court.
- In criminal cases specialising in either prosecution or defence.
- In civil cases specialising in, for example, personal injury,
defamation. - Public Access – being instructed directly by clients. This does
not include legally funded cases. - Specialising in areas of law, for example, criminal, family,
commercial, tax, company.
