Zusammenfassung der Ressource
The Judiciary
- Roles and Qualifications
Anmerkungen:
- Qualification requirements are set out in the Tribunal, Court and Enforcement Act 2007.
- Justice of the Supreme Court
- They hear appeals (usually civil) involving a point of law.
- They sit as an uneven number, usually 5 to 7 (min is 3).
- Their decisions become precedent to all courts.
- Must be of High Judicial Office for at least 15 years
- Lord Justice of Appeal
- Their workload is much heavier than SC's, so HC judge(s) often form part of the panel of 3
- 1 judge deals with applications for leave to appeal (crim)
- For civil appeals liability or reward is awarded
- usually HC judge, or 7 b/s
- High Court Judges
- Try first instance cases
- Decide law, amount of damages and which side has won
- They hear civil appeals from County Court and criminal appeals from Mags Court
- QBD Judges also hear crim trials in the Crown Court with a jury if on a point of law
- Circuit Judge for 2 yrs or 7 b/s
- Circuit Judge
- Civil cases: In County Court they sit on their own and decide the law and facts
- Criminal cases: In Crown Court the jury decide the fact and they decide the law
- They decide the amount of damages/remedy/sentence
- existing Recorder, Dist J or Tribunal J or 7 b/s
- Recorders: appted for 5 yrs, mainly in Crown Court but also help County too
- District Judge (Mags' Court)
- Criminal cases - sit on their own and decide fact, law and sentence
- maybe family cases but with 2 lay mags
- Deputy DJ (who could previsouly been ILEX fellow) or 5 b/s
- Selection
Anmerkungen:
- Judicial qualities include intellectual, personal qualities, efficiency etc.
- Before CRA 2005
- Lord Chancellor selected the superior judges and considered them
in secret: This was criticised bc of political influence and bias
towards white males
- JAC
- 15 in total: 6 lay members, 3 CA/HC judges, 1
circuit and 1 district judges, 1 bar and 1 sol, a
magistrate and a tribunal member
- Entirely responsible for assessing merit, recommending and selection
- Must consult with Lord Chief Justice and equv. judge before recommending
- Selection below SC
- Advertised via media and roadshows and events for wider range
- 1. Candidates fill in the app form and nominate 3~6
referees 2. Publish list of ppl to consult with inlc. judges
3.JAC select them for interview by tests and paper sift -
interview includes role play and discussions
4.Recommended to Lord Chan for appt
- Selection of Justices of SC
- CRA 2005: When there is a vacancy, Lord
Chan convene a SC Selection Commission
- SCSC: include President and Deputy
President of SC, JAC members, JAB for Scot
member
- The Commission decides the
selection process and report
selection to Lord Chan
- Lord Chan notifies PM
and PM recommend to
Queen for appt
- Lord Chan can reject
and ask to reconsider
with reasons (once
except SC)
- Training
- 1 week course run
by JSB for Recorders
and shadowing for 1
week
- Criticised that this
is very short and no
experience and
practice of tasks
- Provide seminars and human
awareness training (make judges more
aware of unintentional discrimination
and the people's perspection
- In Europe there is training for judges: Adv is average age
id lower bc in UK Recorders are 30~40 and HC 40~50
Disadv is that it is seen as too closely linked to Govt as
they are civil servants
- Attitiudes to training
considerably changed over 20
years: insulting -> fully accepted
- Tenure
- Superior Judges
- cannot be dismissed by Govt "during good beh"
Anmerkungen:
- Set out in SC Act 1981 for HC and CA judges and CRA 2005 for SC
- this security of
tenure allows
them to be
independent from
political
interference
- Lord Chan (aft consultation with LCJ) declares
vancant the office of incapable j/ who is
considering resignation -> this can be used to
pressure them to resign e.g. if criticism,s LC
asked to resign
- Inferior Judges
- Lord Chan can dismiss for
incapacity/misbeh ex. Bruce
Campbell (Circuit J) convicted of
evading customs duty on
cigarettes and whisky
- LCJ can suspend if
crim proceedings or
convicted (CRA 2005)
- Both have to get consent from each other
- Complaints investigated by
Office for Judicial Complaints
and if upheld, LC and LCJ can
advise, warn or remove for
misconduct
- Independence of the Judiciary
- Independence from Leg
- Full-time Js sit X in Parlt
- HL became SC in
2009 to separate
Jud from Leg
- Independence form Exec
- Superior judges dismissed X by Govt
- CRA 2005 s3: Lord Chan
influenceX J's decision
- Freedom from pressure
- 1. Financial Independence: payment from consolidated fund
- 2. Sirros v Moore: suedX for decisions
- 3. Security of tenure
- Independence from political bias
- -_- GCHQ
case: Upheld
Min's right to
withdraw TU
membership
from civil
servant
- ^o^ DPP v
Hutchinson:
Ruled Min
exceeded his
powers in
framing byelaw
- ^o^ R v Sec St of Home
Dept: Upheld that
Home Sec's power -_-
- Independence from case
- The Pinochet case: one of the Js director of a charity, so retried