The British Judiciary

The Court System

Hierarchy of courts (lower or inferior courts and high or superior courts)

Criminal and civil division

Inferior courts

County courts (civil)Magistrates’ courts and Crown courts

(criminal)

Superior courts

The Supreme Court of the UKThe Court of Appeal (civil and criminal

division)The High Court of Justice (three divisions –

Queen’s Bench, Family and Chancery division)

Judges

Justices of the Supreme CourtLord Justices of AppealPuisne judges (High Court of Justice)Circuit judgesRecordersDistrict judgesJustices of the Peace (Magistrates’ courts)

Lord Chancellor before 2005

Prior to the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005, the Lord Chancellor combined executive, judicial and legislative roles – he was the minister of Justice (executive), head of the judicial committee of the House of Lords and responsible for judicial appointments (judicial) and Speaker of the House of Lords (legislative)

He decided about judicial appointments independently or together with the Prime Minister

Constitutional Reform Act of 2005

The Act reduced the role of the Lord Chancellor and extended the role of the Lord Chief Justice, constituted the Supreme Court of the UK (established in 2009) and abolished the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords as the highest court in the country

Judicial appointment

The Courts and Legal Services Act of 1990 sets out the professional qualification needed to become a judge

Since 2005 the Judicial Appointments Commission has selected the judges

The Judicial Appointments Commission

Set up under the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005

Consists of 15 membersSelection is based on meritThe Commission recommends to the Lord

Chancellor who should be appointed

Inferior judges

District judges (County Court, Magistrates’ Court)Recorders (County Court and the Crown Court –

part-time judges )Circuit judges (County Court and/or Crown Court)

They are drawn from the ranks of solicitors or barristers with at least ten years of experience

Possible to advance from lower to more senior judicial offices

Superior judges

High Court Judges or Puisne judges (High Court) – appointed in the three divisions: Queen’s Bench, Chancery court, Family court

Lord Justices of Appeal (the Court of Appeal)Justices of the Supreme Court

The Lord Chief Justice

Head of the judiciary for England and WalesPresides over the Criminal Division of the

Court of Appeal

Training of judges

Organised by the Judicial Studies Board (JSB)For most new judges there is a short

residential courseContinuation seminarsAdditional special training schemes for new

areas of law

Removal

Superior judges have the security of tenure that dates back to the Act of Settlement of 1701 – they can only be removed by the Monarch following a petition presented by both Houses of Parliament

Inferior judges can be dismissed by the Lord Chancellor for incapacity or misbehaviour

Protection of judicial independence

Judges have immunity from being sued for anything they do in the course of their judicial duty

Judicial salaries are paid from the Consolidated Fund so there is no need for parliamentary authorisation

The security of tenure of superior judges

Political activity

Judges are expected to abstain from political activity and be neutral when making their decisions

The Lord Chancellor’s role

Appointed by the Prime Minister and can be dismissed by him/her

The Minister of Justice and an MP He no longer acts as the head of the

judiciary (now it is the Lord Chief Justice), nor sits as a judge

He has a role in appointing judges

Recent changes

The Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 provided that the Lord Chancellor no longer needs to be a lawyer, that he/she can be a member of the House of Lords or the House of Commons

In 2007 Jack Straw became the first Lord Chancellor since the 16th century to sit in the House of Commons

New Lord Chancellor

May 14, 2010Kenneth Clarke

The Supreme Court

Established in 2009Replaced the former highest court in the

country – the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords

Justices are now independent from Parliament

About the Supreme Court

http://www.youtube.com/uksupremecourt

Why was it established in 2009?Why is it more accessible to the public?How can an appeal reach the Supreme

Court?

Hierarchy of courts

Comprehension

Read Unit 4 (pp. 16-17) and find the words or phrases you are unfamiliar with!

Vocabulary

Judiciary – sudstvoConstitutional Reform Act – Zakon o ustavnoj

refomito alter somebody’s role- izmijeniti nečiju uloguThe Appellatte Committee of the House of

Lords – Prizivno vijeće pri Gornjem domu (do 2009. najviši sud u UK)

tenure – trajno zvanjefinal ruling – konačna sudska odlukabias - predrasude

Thank you for your attention!