Legal Personnel - The Judiciary: types and role in civil and criminal courts

Question 1

Explain the role of judges and the judicial hierarchy.
Explain the different levels of judges and their respective roles (8 marks)

Question 2

The general role of judges:
What is the general role of judges

Answer 2

The role of judges is to apply the law as stated by Parliament in an independent manner.
Parliament is the supreme law maker and so courts and judges cannot question the law, merely interpret it.

Question 3

Judges have a key role of what

Answer 3

Judges have a clear role in controlling the exercise of power by the state (Government)

Question 4

How do judges control the exercise of power by the state (government)

Answer 4

Through judicial review.

Question 5

What do they have the power to do (still about general role) and provide legislation

Answer 5

They have the power to declare Uk laws incompatible with Human Rights and issue Section 4 (HRA 1998) declarations of incompatibility

Question 6

What does s2 Human rights act 1998 state about judges

Answer 6

Judges should ‘take into account’ decisions of the European court of human rights

Question 7

What does s3 Human Rights Act 1998 state about judges

Answer 7

All legislation should be interpreted in a way which is compatible with the European convention on human rights

Question 8

What key case demonstrated the willingness of the judiciary to check the powers and exercise of the executive in matters concerning national security

Answer 8

A and X and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2004)

The case concerned the indefinite detention of foreign prisoners in the UK prison ‘Belmarsh’. The prisoners were held without trial under section 23 of the Anti-terrorism, crime and security act 2001.
This decision and the subsequent detentions were challenged at court in terms of their compatibility with the aims of the European convention on human rights
The ruling in this case was a landmark decision, The HOL held that the provisions under which detainees were being held at Belmarsh prison section 23 were incompatible with article 5 of the European convention of human rights - however the home secretary was not required to release the prisoners. The provision had the effect of discriminating between foreign nationals of the state. As a result of the Lords finding, they made a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 of the human rights act 1998

Question 9

What did Lord Bingham state about this case

Answer 9

Lord Bingham: “The function of independent judges charged to interpret and apply the law is universally recognised as a cardinal feature of the modern democratic state, a cornerstone of the rule of law itself.”

Question 10

The Hierarchy of Judges:
who is the head of the judiciary

Answer 10

The Lord Chief Justice

Question 11

What are supreme court judges known as

Answer 11

Justices of the Supreme Court

Question 12

What are court of appeal judges known as

Answer 12

Lord Justices of Appeal

Question 13

High court

Answer 13

High court judges

Question 14

What are the types of judges within the Crown Court

Answer 14

Circuit judges
District Judges
Recorders (part time)

Question 15

What type of judge works in the magistrates court

Answer 15

District judges

Question 16

What types of judges are found in the county court

Answer 16

Same as crown court,
Circuit judges
District judges
Recorders (part time)

Question 17

When speaking of judges as a group, what are they called

Answer 17

They are referred to as the JUDICIARY

Question 18

There are many levels of judges, but their basic function is the same; state their main role

Answer 18

Their main role in cases is to make decisions in respect of disputes in a fair and unbiased manner, applying the law and the legal rules of England and Wales

Question 19

Role of the different types of judges: JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT
What is the supreme court and why was it created

Answer 19

• They are the highest court of appeal for all civil courts
• Should be a division of responsibility or powers for those who make the law and those who apply it.
• Constitutional reform act 2005
• Judicial community of the privy council - common wealth matters or issues
• Only those cases of general public importance

Question 20

What did the constitutional Reform Act 2005 do

Answer 20

The establishment of the Supreme Court under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 means that the superior judges are completely separate from Parliament. This creates an independent judiciary which is a fundamental principle.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 also changed the role of the Lord Chancellor as it too was seen to be in conflict with the separation of powers as it is a political appointment. The Lord Chancellor is now known as the Minister of Justice. The current Minister of Justice is Dominic Raab (not a Judge but is a qualified solicitor and MP).

Question 21

How many judges are in the supreme court

Answer 21

-12 judges

Question 22

How many cases do supreme judges hear per year

Answer 22

• Hear about 100 cases per year - all appeals

Question 23

What types of cases do justices of the supreme court hear

Answer 23

Civil or criminal cases (though majority are civil and involve technical areas of law such as planning law or tax law)

Question 24

When can appeals be heard by the justices of the supreme court

Answer 24

Cases can only be appealed here if a point of law is involved

Question 25

How do justices of the supreme court sit

Answer 25

Sit in an uneven panels (minimum 3)
The BREXIT CASE in December 2016 - the court sat in a panel of 11 as the issue was so important

Question 26

What impact do justices of the supreme court have

Answer 26

They set precedents for all UK courts to follow

Question 27

Justices of the supreme court set out the doctrine of precedent, what does this mean

Answer 27

Once decided what the law is, justices of the supreme court have to apply it, meaning every judge has to follow it

Question 28

Do they hear witnesses

Answer 28

No, they have no jury box

Question 29

How do justices of the supreme court pick their cases

Answer 29

Chooses only from cases with general points of public importance.

Question 30

Lord or Lady Justices of Appeal:
How many judges are there

Answer 30

36 judges

Question 31

How many cases are heard per year

Answer 31

hear about 10,000 per year - all appeals

Question 32

What kind of cases do they listen to

Answer 32

Civil or criminal cases - 2 divisions

Question 33

How many criminal cases appeals do they hear per year

Answer 33

Approximately 7000 ‘‘leave to appeal’’ hearings per year against sentence of conviction

Question 34

How many judges deal with leave to appeal cases

Answer 34

Dealt with by one judge alone

Question 35

Taking into consideration those cases which do not get granted leave to appeal, how many cases does the full court deal with

Answer 35

around 1800 full criminal appeals

Question 36

How many civil cases do justices of appeal deal with

Answer 36

Approximately 3000 civil appeals on liability or the remedy awarded

Question 37

How do justices of appeal usually sit

Answer 37

Usually sit in panels of three but in rare and important cases sit in panels of five

Question 38

High Court Judges:
How many High Court judges are there

Answer 38

106

Question 39

What is their main function, as in what type of cases they deal with

Answer 39

Main function is to try civil cases in Chancery and Family divisions and in the High court itself (cases at first instance)

Question 40

For cases of first instance how many judges are there

Answer 40

judges usually sit alone

Question 41

what are high court judges general role

Answer 41

They will hear evidence from witnesses, decide what the law is and make the decision as to which side has won the case.
If the claim is for damages (money) the judge will decide how much should be awarded to the winning claimant

Question 42

Do high court judges also hear appeals

Answer 42

Also hear some appeals- mainly from civil cases that have been tried in the County Court (in panels)

Question 43

What do judges in the KBD hear and from what court, and what is the requirement as well as how many judges hear it

Answer 43

Judges in the King’s Bench Division also hear criminal appeals from the Magistrates’ Court – on points of law only – in panels of two.

Question 44

What do KBD judges also hear and where and who with and what do they do in court

Answer 44

KBD Judges also sit in the Crown court to hear criminal trials – they sit with a jury to do this and guide them on the law, sentencing where guilty verdicts are returned.

Question 45

Inferior judges: Circuit Judges
Where do circuit judges sit and to hear what cases

Answer 45

Circuit judges sit in the County Court to hear Civil cases (deciding liability and the damages) and also in the Crown Court to try criminal cases (with a jury)

Question 46

In civil cases how many circuit judges sit

Answer 46

In civil cases, they sit alone - they decide the law and the facts and make a decision on who has won the case

Question 47

In criminal cases how many circuit judges sit and what do they do

Answer 47

In criminal cases, they sit with a jury - the jury decides the facts and the judge decides the law. If a defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty by the jury, the judge decides the sentence.

Question 48

Inferior judges: Recorders
Who are recorders

Answer 48

Part time judges

Question 49

How long are recorders appointed for

Answer 49

A period of 5 years

Question 50

In which courts are recorders used

Answer 50

Used mainly in Crown Court to try criminal cases with a jury BUT some sit in the county court to try civil cases

Question 51

inferior judges: District judges
In which court do they sit in

Answer 51

Sit in the county court

Question 52

What types of cases do they mainly deal with

Answer 52

Small claims cases of 10,000 or less but can also hear cases for larger amounts.

Question 53

How many district judges sit and what is their ole

Answer 53

District Judges can also sit alone in Magistrates’ Courts to try criminal cases – they decide the verdict and the sentence.

Question 54

sumamry

Answer 54

Summary – In cases of first instance, Judges preside over both civil and criminal matters. In criminal cases, the issue of guilt will be decided by a jury, and the judge will pass sentence. In most civil cases, the judge will decide the issue of liability and the amount of damages to be awarded.

Question 55

What changes were implemented in relation to the role of lord chancellor under the constitutional reform act 2005

Answer 55

The Lord Chancellor no longer:
Sits as a judge in the House of Lords/Supreme Court
Heads the judiciary – this is now the Lord Chief Justice
Has a role in the judicial appointments process
Is required to be a member of the House of Lords
Automatically becomes Speaker of the House of Lords

The Lord Chancellor is now:
Head of the Ministry for Justice
Responsible for legal aid, the Law Commission and the Courts system
Potentially drawn from a background other than law – In 2012 Chris Grayling became the first non lawyer to hold this post in 400 years.

Question 56

stats

Answer 56

Judicial Diversity Statistics – April 2018
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

29% of court judges and 46 % of tribunal judges were female
Around half of court judges under 50 are female
24% of Judges in the Court of Appeal and High Court were female (On 27 June 2018 the appointment of three Lady Justices and four Lord Justices of Appeal were announced. On 9 July 2018 the appointment of five High Court Judges were announced, two of which were male and three of which were female)
8% of judges identified as BAME (7% of court and 11% of tribunal judges); non-legal tribunal members 17%
BAME representation among court judges aged 40 or over (98% of judges) was only slightly below that of the working age general population in each age band, while BAME representation among tribunal judges was higher than that of the working age general population at all age bands from 40 and over. Non-legal members have considerably higher BAME representation than that of the working age general population at all age groups.
A third of court judges and two thirds of tribunal judges are from non-barrister backgrounds.
NCLUDE:
Statistics, EXPLAINING THEIR RELEVANCE
Is the judiciary representative of society?
What measures have been implemented to encourage a greater representation?