Finally to become a Law Lord you need 15 years rights of audience in high judicial office and can also apply to Scottish or Northern Irish judges too.
Once any of the statutory criteria has been met you are able to be considered for judicial appointment.
To become a District judge you must respond to an advertisement by sending an application to the Judicial Selection Board (Lord Chancellor’s Department). Then you are short-listed and interviewed after references have been taken up. Finally appointment is at the Lord Chancellor’s discretion. This appointment procedure is also the same for Recorders and Circuit judges.
The appointment procedure for a High court judge begins with sending an application in response to an advertisement or by invitation from the Lord Chancellor’s Department. Following this the opinions of all the High court judges is asked. Then there is a review by the Lord Chancellor’s Department and Heads of Division (Queen’s Bench, Family Division and Chancery Division). Finally appointment is by the Lord Chancellor.
The appointment procedure begins to change after the High court. To become a Lord Justice of Appeal you are invited to consider promotion by the Lord Chancellor, who then seeks opinions from Law Lords and Senior Lord Justices. Then the Lord Chancellor recommends appointments to the Prime Minister.
Finally the appointment procedure to become a Law Lord involves the Lord Chancellor recommending Senior Lord Justices or Court of Session judges (Scottish) and Northern Irish judges to the Prime Minister. After consultation with all existing Law Lords and Heads of Division.
Once appointed by the Lord Chancellor or Prime Minister training is given by the Judicial Studies Board. There are 2 main types of residential training for beginners (mainly newly appointed Recorders) and refresher courses for more experienced Circuit judges.
Beginner courses usually last 4 days and taught by experienced judges about the duties, how conduct in conduct in court and problems that may be encountered. The main focus is on sentencing, and there lectures by probation officers, social workers, prison officials, psychiatrists, penologists and of course Senior judges. They are also given important Court of Appeal decisions, prison statistics, the patterns and trends of imprisonment, and informed about the alternatives of imprisonment. At some point there will be a visit to prison and young offenders’ institution.
They are also given practical training involving sentencing exercises. Where trainees are given an outline on a crime committed, the offender’s history and background (information judges would have in a real trial). These facts are all based on cases tried before the Court of Appeal. Following on from here, the trainee’s discuss the case among themselves in small panels and decide on their sentence. Then the experienced judges analyse and discuss, and compare sentences with the Court of Appeal’s decision.
Refresher courses also last 4 days (regularly repeated for every judge) and are more advanced. There is still a focus on sentencing and courses to keep up to date – changes in law. There is special training on race issues and special when law changes or is reformed. For example when the Human Rights Act 1998 was passes judges received special training in human rights.
