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Can a judge ever be found guilty of a crime?

Yes. Judges are subject to the law just as everyone else is.

Can a judge hear a case involving their friend?

No. One of the cornerstones of our legal system is that judges are impartial - their oath even includes this pledge: "I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will."

Reasons which might lead a judge to excuse himself or herself from judging a case include:

• Friendship with or animosity towards one of the non-legal parties in the case (although simply knowing them does not count as bias)
• Financial interest
• Family relationships to anyone involved in the case.

Can a judge have a job as something else at the same time?

Salaried, or full-time, judges are not allowed to receive money from any other form of employment, except for royalties earned as an author. Fee-paid judges - such as recorders, deputy district judges, tribunals members and deputy High Court judges - continue to work at their professions when not sitting as judges.

Magistrates are unpaid members of their local community, so naturally they continue with any day job they may have. Employers are encouraged to support magistrates by allowing time off work so that they may undertake sittings.

Can judges own businesses / shares?

Judges can hold shares although salaried judges should not hold commercial directorships for profit.

Some fee-paid (part-time) judicial office holders may own part or all of a business, for example, solicitors who own part of their practice. Magistrates are unpaid and are drawn from wide ranging backgrounds - including businessmen and women.

Can judges belong to a political party/stand for parliament?

A judge must forego any kind of political activity and on appointment sever all ties with political parties. However, they are allowed to vote.

Are there judges who are freemasons?

It is inevitable that some judges will belong to the Freemasons. However, the oath given by judges on appointment - "I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will" ensures that the judge explicitly acknowledges that he or she is primarily accountable to the law which he or she must administer. There is no question that membership of the Freemasons would have any effect whatsoever on the outcome of cases.

Since 1998 anyone offered a full or part-time salaried judicial appointment for the first time has also been asked as a condition of appointment whether he or she belongs to the Freemasons and, if not, that he or she notifies the Lord Chancellor in the event that he or she subsequently joins them.

Can a judge get promoted / demoted / dismissed?

Judges can be and are 'promoted' to higher courts. A judge sitting in the High Court or the House of Lords will probably have started life as a solicitor or barrister, and then become a recorder (a fee-paid judge who still works in their chosen profession for at least some of the time). They are then able to apply to become a salaried, or full-time, member of the judiciary in a number of jurisdictions. On occasions, judges are promoted through the courts, but it is also possible for a barrister or solicitor who has sat in a fee-paid, or part-time, judicial capacity to apply to sit straight in the High Court. The most senior judges will almost certainly have sat at High Court level before being promoted.

Judges can also be dismissed. The most senior judges - the Heads of Division, Law Lords, Lords Justices of Appeal and High Court judges - can only be removed by The Queen after an address from both Houses of Parliament, although this has never happened.

Other judicial office holders can be removed by the Lord Chief Justice for incapacity or misbehaviour. This is very rare, and in the case of a full-time serving judge needing to be removed, has happened just once, in 1983, when a circuit judge was removed from office after pleading guilty to several charges of smuggling.

Fee-paid , or part-time, office holders, who are usually appointed for at least five years, may not have their contracts renewed on the following grounds: misbehaviour; incapacity; persistent failure to comply with sitting requirements (without good reason); failure to comply with training requirements; sustained failure to observe the standards reasonably expected from a holder of such office; part of a reduction in numbers because of changes in operational requirements; and part of a structural change to enable recruitment of new appointees.

How do I complain about a judge or a judgments?

For those who do not win their case, there is normally a right of appeal. For those who are unhappy with the way their case has been handled by the judge, or by the overall experience of appearing in court, there are mechanisms available to make a complaint. More information about Complaints and Appeals.

Can divorced judges hear family cases?

Yes. Judges are expected to put aside any personal feelings when hearing a case.

More information is available in the Conduct and appeals section of this site.

©2008 Judicial Communications Office