A level Law: Legal Personnel: Judiciary

Objectives:

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 cannot question the law, but merely interpret it

s2 Human Rights Act 1998 - judges should 'take into account' decisions of the European Court of Human Rights
s3 Human Rights Act 1998 - all legislation should be interpreted in a way which is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights

Judges preside over both civil and criminal cases. 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
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 under the Rule of Law
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. The Lord Chancellor is now known as the Minister of Justice

Hierarchy

Selection of Judges

Pre Constitutional Reform Act 2005	Post Constitutional Reform Act 2005
Lord Chancellor selected judges based on the opinions of existing judges Lord Chancellor would decide on who to appoint, and that person would be invited to become a judge This process was seen as very secretive Lord Chancellor was a political appointment and so was not free from political influence	Recruitment of judges is now managed by the Judicial Appointments Commission Judicial posts are now advertised and candidates must apply Appointments process is now completely separate from the political influence of the government Lord Chancellor is still involved in appointment of superior judges, but in a very minimal way

Judicial Appointments Commission

There are 15 members of the Commission; membership of the Commission is drawn from the judiciary, the legal profession, non-legally qualified judicial officer holders and the public
The Commission recommends five judicial qualities for a good judge

Intellectual capacity
Integrity, independence of mind, sound judgment, decisiveness, objectivity and willingness to learn
Ability to understand and deal fairly
Authority and communication skills
Efficiency

Appointments are now made solely on merit and posts are widely advertised to encourage a wide range of candidates to apply
The amount of time that a candidate has to have worked in the law has been reduced to increase the pool of potential candidates and to encourage applications from solicitors, barristers and tribunal judges

Criticism

A huge criticism of the judiciary has always been that it is dominated by Oxbridge educated, old and upper class males. The system of selection under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 has gone some way to addressing the issue

Judicial Diversity Statistics - April 2016

Judicial Training

On first appointment, judges go through an induction programme, and will be assigned a mentor; usually an experience judge
Judges are expected to participate in continuing professional development through the completion of seminars and e-learning which teach judges about developments in legislation and

Judicial Independence

s3 Constitutional Reform Act 2005 guarantees judicial independence and states that this must be upheld at all times

Judges are free from influence from the legislature - judges are not allowed to be MPs
Judges are free from influence from the government - they can make decisions which may displease the government without the threat of dismissal

(Case Study: Court ruling that Parliament must vote on the process of the UK leaving the EU: http:/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37857785)

Judges should be free from political bias, but there are cases which show that judges tend to support the government

Judges can declare UK legislation incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights which will force the government to change the law

(Case Study: A and another v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2004))

Dismissal and Retirement of Judges

Judges usually retire at the age of 70
Judges have to be independent, so it is important that they have security of tenure, which means they should not be at risk of removal just because the government may not agree with their decisions

Case Study: In 2013, Judge Peter Bowers refused to jail a paedophile for accessing images of child abuse, saying "he'd have a hard time in prison"

However, judges can be removed from office by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, who deals with all issues of judicial discipline, if any allegations of misconduct are upheld

Case study: "Three judges removed and a fourth resigns for viewing pornography at work", The Guardian. 17th March 2015

Inferior judges do not have the same security of tenure as superior judges, and the Lord Chancellor has the power to dismiss any inferior judge for incapacity or misbehaviour

A level Law