This section gives details of the appointments process for district judges and deputy district judges to the magistrates courts. It includes the nature of the posts, qualifications and experience and the duration of appointment for deputies.
Qualification for appointment
District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) are appointed by The Queen on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. The statutory qualification is a seven year general qualification [Footnote 17].
Nature of the post
District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) are salaried members of the judiciary who hear cases in Magistrates' Courts. They deal with the full range of business falling to be dealt with by the lay magistracy and in particular may be expected to hear the lengthier and more complex matters coming before the Magistrates' Courts. In addition they have jurisdiction to hear cases under the Extradition Acts and the Fugitive Offender Acts. They may sit with lay magistrates or alone.
Additional qualifications and experience
The Lord Chancellor will normally consider only applicants who have served in a fee paid capacity for a minimum of two years or 30 days sittings.
Appointments process
Appointments are made following an advertisement and selection procedure. Advertisements are placed in some national newspapers and/or legal journals inviting applications for appointment. Information on the expected timing of advertisements is available from our district
judges and deputy district judges team and from the e-newsletter.
When the competition is advertised those interested are invited to contact legal and judicial services group, for an application pack which contains:
The competencies for appointment are:
Judgement
Professionalism
People skills
The application form should be returned by a stated date. In that form the candidates are asked to name up to six people who are familiar with their work and can assess their suitability for appointment in the light of the competencies. The sifting panel, consisting of a serving judge, a senior official representing the Department for Constitutional Affairs and a lay person, consider those assessments [Footnote 18] and the appraisal reports on each candidate (where available) when deciding whom to select for the assessment centre.
All of the competencies are tested at the interview for those candidates who are selected to go through to that stage, but at the sift consideration is usually limited to the following five competencies:
Those chosen are assessed by a similarly constituted panel. The Lord Chancellor considers the information from each stage of the selection process before deciding whom to appoint.
Qualification for appointment
The statutory qualification is the same as that for salaried appointments [Footnote 19].
Nature of the post
Deputy District Judges (Magistrates' Courts) sit on a fee-paid basis in the Magistrates' Courts, and for a minimum of 15 days a year. There is an appraisal scheme which mirrors that for Deputy District Judge. In general the jurisdiction of a Deputy District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) is the same as that of a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts).
Application process
Appointments are made following an advertisement and selection procedure. Advertisements are placed in some national newspapers and/or legal journals inviting applications for appointment. Information on the expected timing of advertisements is available from our district Bench branch and from the e-newsletter.
When the competition is advertised those interested are invited to contact legal and judicial services group, for an application pack which contains:
The application form must be returned by a stated date.
Invitation to the Assessment Centre is based solely on the strength of the candidate's application, particularly the self assessment.
All of the competencies are tested at the assessment centre for those candidates who are selected to go through to that stage, but at the sift consideration is usually limited to the following five competencies:
Candidates who are successful at the sift stage are invited to attend a day long Assessment Centre where they are assessed against the competencies for appointment.
Applicants are asked to provide, on their application forms, the names of consultees who are familiar with their abilities and are in a position to comment on their suitability for appointment. These assessments are then obtained on those candidates who are invited to attend the assessment centre (see below), rather than before the sift process as for District Judge appointments.
Before sitting alone, successful candidates are required to sit in for one week with a serving District Judge (Magistrates' Courts), to attend a four day residential judicial studies board induction seminar, to visit penal institutions and to meet with a senior representative of the probation service.
Duration and extension of appointments
As with other fee-paid appointments, Deputy District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) appointments are subject to the terms and conditions described for fee-paid office holders. Appointments are for five years and will be automatically extended by the Lord Chancellor for further successive terms of five years subject to the office holder's agreement and the relevant upper age limit unless one of the causes for non-renewal is raised or the individual no longer satisfies the conditions or qualifications for appointment.
For further information on district judges and deputy district judges including magistrates courts, please contact our district judges team.
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