Legal Personnel - The Judiciary: types and role in civil and criminal courts Flashcards
Explain the role of judges and the judicial hierarchy.
Explain the different levels of judges and their respective roles (8 marks)
The general role of judges:
What is the general role of judges
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.
Judges have a key role of what
Judges have a clear role in controlling the exercise of power by the state (Government)
How do judges control the exercise of power by the state (government)
Through judicial review.
What do they have the power to do (still about general role) and provide legislation
They have the power to declare Uk laws incompatible with Human Rights and issue Section 4 (HRA 1998) declarations of incompatibility
What does s2 Human rights act 1998 state about judges
Judges should ‘take into account’ decisions of the European court of human rights
What does s3 Human Rights Act 1998 state about judges
All legislation should be interpreted in a way which is compatible with the European convention on human rights
What key case demonstrated the willingness of the judiciary to check the powers and exercise of the executive in matters concerning national security
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
What did Lord Bingham state about this case
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.”
The Hierarchy of Judges:
who is the head of the judiciary
The Lord Chief Justice
What are supreme court judges known as
Justices of the Supreme Court
What are court of appeal judges known as
Lord Justices of Appeal
High court
High court judges
What are the types of judges within the Crown Court
Circuit judges
District Judges
Recorders (part time)
What type of judge works in the magistrates court
District judges
What types of judges are found in the county court
Same as crown court,
Circuit judges
District judges
Recorders (part time)
When speaking of judges as a group, what are they called
They are referred to as the JUDICIARY
There are many levels of judges, but their basic function is the same; state their main role
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
Role of the different types of judges: JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT
What is the supreme court and why was it created
- 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
What did the constitutional Reform Act 2005 do
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).
How many judges are in the supreme court
-12 judges
How many cases do supreme judges hear per year
- Hear about 100 cases per year - all appeals
What types of cases do justices of the supreme court hear
Civil or criminal cases (though majority are civil and involve technical areas of law such as planning law or tax law)
When can appeals be heard by the justices of the supreme court
Cases can only be appealed here if a point of law is involved
How do justices of the supreme court sit
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
What impact do justices of the supreme court have
They set precedents for all UK courts to follow
Justices of the supreme court set out the doctrine of precedent, what does this mean
Once decided what the law is, justices of the supreme court have to apply it, meaning every judge has to follow it
Do they hear witnesses
No, they have no jury box
How do justices of the supreme court pick their cases
Chooses only from cases with general points of public importance.
Lord or Lady Justices of Appeal:
How many judges are there
36 judges
How many cases are heard per year
hear about 10,000 per year - all appeals
What kind of cases do they listen to
Civil or criminal cases - 2 divisions
How many criminal cases appeals do they hear per year
Approximately 7000 ‘‘leave to appeal’’ hearings per year against sentence of conviction
How many judges deal with leave to appeal cases
Dealt with by one judge alone
Taking into consideration those cases which do not get granted leave to appeal, how many cases does the full court deal with
around 1800 full criminal appeals
How many civil cases do justices of appeal deal with
Approximately 3000 civil appeals on liability or the remedy awarded
How do justices of appeal usually sit
Usually sit in panels of three but in rare and important cases sit in panels of five
High Court Judges:
How many High Court judges are there
106
What is their main function, as in what type of cases they deal with
Main function is to try civil cases in Chancery and Family divisions and in the High court itself (cases at first instance)
For cases of first instance how many judges are there
judges usually sit alone
what are high court judges general role
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
Do high court judges also hear appeals
Also hear some appeals- mainly from civil cases that have been tried in the County Court (in panels)
What do judges in the KBD hear and from what court, and what is the requirement as well as how many judges hear it
Judges in the King’s Bench Division also hear criminal appeals from the Magistrates’ Court – on points of law only – in panels of two.
What do KBD judges also hear and where and who with and what do they do in court
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.
Inferior judges: Circuit Judges
Where do circuit judges sit and to hear what cases
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)
In civil cases how many circuit judges sit
In civil cases, they sit alone - they decide the law and the facts and make a decision on who has won the case
In criminal cases how many circuit judges sit and what do they do
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.
Inferior judges: Recorders
Who are recorders
Part time judges
How long are recorders appointed for
A period of 5 years
In which courts are recorders used
Used mainly in Crown Court to try criminal cases with a jury BUT some sit in the county court to try civil cases
inferior judges: District judges
In which court do they sit in
Sit in the county court
What types of cases do they mainly deal with
Small claims cases of 10,000 or less but can also hear cases for larger amounts.
How many district judges sit and what is their ole
District Judges can also sit alone in Magistrates’ Courts to try criminal cases – they decide the verdict and the sentence.
sumamry
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.
What changes were implemented in relation to the role of lord chancellor under the constitutional reform act 2005
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.
stats
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?
