Judges & The Judiciary

There are several levels of judges. All judges are required to be independent from government or political pressures. The Lord Chancellor who is responsible for the judiciary whilst being a member of parliament conflicts with the idea of separation of powers.

Appointment and selection

The Lord Chancellor appoints judges for the lower level courts and nominates people for the higher levels. The judges of the court of appeal and the house of lord the prime minister makes the nomination however this would be on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Adverts are placed in the judiciary office for high court judges and lower. High court judges are still selected by invitation.

The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 sets out the relevant qualifications required to become a judge at any level. A candidate must have qualified as a barrister or solicitor. To become a judge in the high court and above the candidate must hold full advocacy rights.

Training judges is the responsibility of the Judicial Studies Board. Training is normally just one day or a short course. This is to keep judges up to date with developing and changing laws, precedents, human rights, racial awareness, etc training is however very limited due to available time.

One of ...

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One of the judiciaries main criticism is that is it made up nearly completely of white, middle aged, middle class men. Less than 1% of judges are from ethnic minorities compared to the 10% of the population.

Dismissal & retirement

The Lord Chancellor and the prime minister have the authority to dismiss the superior judges. The monarch has the power to remove a superior judge only after being presented a petition by both houses of parliament since the Act of Settlement 1701. This is designed to give judges independence to make decision free from political pressure. They must also be the government pressures and pressures generally, hence judges have immunity from being sued for there decisions. All judges are required to retire at 70 years old. The Lord Chancellor can dismiss inferior judges for misconduct and incapacity.

The Lord Chancellor

The Lord chancellor has three roles they are; a member of the cabinet, a speaker in the House of Lords (legislative only) and he can act as a judge in the House of Lords and chancery division of the high court of which he is the head. He has managerial roles also they are running the community legal service (CLS) and a responsibility towards the council on tribunals and the Law Commissions work.

The Lord Chancellor is appointed and dismissed by the prime minister. Being a member of the cabinet when the government changes, as does the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor is unique as he is the only person in the three ‘arms’ of the state these are: