JUDICIARY OF ENGLAND AND WALES

There are various levels of 'judiciary in England and Wales' — different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are generally given more weight than district judges sitting in County Courts and Magistrates. At 31 March 2006 there were 1,825 judges in post in England and Wales, most of whom were Circuit Judges (626) or District Judges (572). ^[1]
The following is a list of the various types of judges who sit in the Courts of England and Wales:

Contents

Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor

Heads of Division

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Court of Appeal

High Court

Circuit Judges

Recorders

Masters and Registrars

District Judges

Deputy District Judges

Magistrates

Judicial salaries

See also

References

External links

Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor

Main articles: Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Since 3 April 2006 the Lord Chief Justice has been the overall head of the judiciary. Previously he was second to the Lord Chancellor, but that office lost its judicial functions under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.[1] The Lord Chief Justice is also the head of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. He was also President of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, but on becoming head of the judiciary that responsibility was transferred to a new office.
Although the Lord Chancellor is no longer a judge, he still exercises disciplinary authority over the judges, jointly with the Lord Chief Justice. He also has a role in appointing judges.

Heads of Division

There are four Heads of Divisions — the Master of the Rolls, the President of the Queen's Bench Division, the President of the Family Division and the Chancellor of the High Court. Each of these judges is entitled to be addressed as "the Right Honourable."
The Master of the Rolls is head of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal. The other Heads are in charge of the three divisions of the High Court.
The Chancellor of the High Court is President of the Chancery Division of the High Court. (Until 2006 this role was nominally held by the Lord Chancellor, but was in practice delegated to the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor was renamed Chancellor of the High Court when the Lord Chancellor's judicial role was abolished.)

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Judges of the House of Lords are known as Lords of Appeal, they are also Privy Counsellors i.e. they sit on Privy Council of the United Kingdom. They are also addressed as the Right Honourable e.g. The Right Honourable Lord Smith, unless they rank in peerage higher than a Baron, in which case Lord would be replaced by their title. However, Dukes would be known simply as Duke.

Court of Appeal

Judges of the Court of Appeal are known as Lord Justices, and they too are Privy Counsellors. Before swearing in they may be addressed as The Honourable Lord Justice Smith, and after swearing in as the Right Honourable Lord Justice Smith. Female Lord Justices are only known as Lady Justices informally. Addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady".
See also the list of Lords Justice of Appeal.

High Court

Main articles: High Court judge

High Court judges are not normally Privy Counsellors, and are only known as the Right Honourable if they are. High Court judges are therefore referred to as the (Right) Honourable Mr/Mrs Justice Smith. Addressed as "My Lord" or "My Lady".

Circuit Judges

Unlike the more important judges, Circuit Judges are referred to as His/Her Honour Judge {surname} e.g. His/Her Honour Judge Smith. If a circuit judge is appointed who has the same surname as another serving circuit judge, they will be referred to as His/Her Honour Judge {first name} {surname}. e/g His Honour Judge John Smith. Addressed as "Your Honour", unless they are sitting in the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), in which case they are addressed as "My Lord / Lady".

Recorders

Part-time circuit judges, usually a practising barrister or solicitor. Addressed as 'Your Honour' in Court and referred to as 'Mr/Mrs Recorder Smith'.
Also, and slightly confusingly, the senior circuit judge in a metropolitan area. For example, the Honorary Recorder of Manchester. Addressed as 'Your Lordship/ Ladyship'.

Masters and Registrars

A Master is a level of judge in the High Court lower than that of a High Court judge. They are mainly responsible for case management pre-trial, and cases are then heard at trial by a full High Court judge. Masters (who may be male or female) are addressed simply as Master, and Registrars as Registrar. Each of the divisions has a senior Master who ranks above the other Masters, and each division has a different title.
They are:

★ Queen's Bench Division - Senior Master

★ Chancery Division - Chief Chancery Master

★ Costs Office - Senior Costs Judge

★ Bankruptcy Court - Chief Bankruptcy Registrar

★ Admiralty Court - Admiralty Registrar
The Senior Master of the Queen's Bench Division also holds the ancient judicial post of King's Remembrancer (Queen's Remembrancer when the monarch is female), and is also the Registrar of Election petitions and Foreign judgments as well as being the designated authority for the Hague Service Convention and Hague Evidence Convention and receiving agency under Council Regulation (EC) No. 1348/2000 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001.

District Judges

District Judges are the judges who sit in either a County Court or a Magistrates' Court; the latter were formerly known as Stipendiary Magistrates until the Access to Justice Act 1999, and are formally known as "District Judge (Magistrates' Courts)" (see the Courts Act 2003). Addressed as "Sir" or "Madam".

Deputy District Judges

A practising solicitor or barrister who sits part-time as a District Judge (often taking their first steps on the route to becoming a full-time judge). Addressed as "Sir" or "Madam".

Magistrates

Laymen drawn from the community who generally sit in threes in order to give judgment in Magistrates' Courts and Youth Courts. Addressed as "Sir" or "Madam" but often addressed as 'Your Worships' by the police and some lawyers.

Judicial salaries

There are nine pay points for judges in England and Wales. The following is a simplified list of the salaries with effect from 1 November 2006, showing only the most widely held grades and some of the best known specific appointments. A complete list of all the posts at each pay point can be found on the website of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. [2]

★ Group 1: Lord Chief Justice, £225,000

★ Group 1.1: Master of the Rolls and Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, £200,800

★ Group 2: Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and several other appointments, £194,000

★ Group 3: Lords Justices of Appeal and certain others, £184,400

★ Group 4: High Court Judges and certain others, £162,000

★ Group 5: Numerous specialist appointments, £129,900

★ Group 6.1: Circuit Judges and several other appointments, £120,300

★ Group 6.2: Numerous specialist appointments, £104,220

★ Group 7: District Judges and several other appointments, £96,500
Judges also have a pension scheme, which is considered to be one of the most generous in the British public sector. ^[2]

See also

★ Courts of England and Wales

★ Judiciary of Hong Kong

References

1. Department for Constitutional Affairs, Departmental Evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body, October 2006, Pages 27-30.
2. Department for Constitutional Affairs, Departmental Evidence to the Senior Salaries Review Body, October 2006, Page 5


★ ''Forms of Address'' - Crown Office of the House of Lords, November 2000

External links

★ Judiciary of England and Wales government website

★ Department for Constitutional Affairs list of judges

★ Constitutional Reform Act 2005