
A Justice of the High Court, commonly known as a ‘High Court judge’, is a judge of the
High Court of Justice of England and Wales, and represents the third highest
level of judge in the
courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as
puisne (pronounced ''puny'') judges. High Court Judges wear red and black robes.
High Court judges rank below
Justices of Appeal, but above
circuit judges.
Title and form of address
Upon appointment, male High Court judges are appointed
Knights Bachelor and female judges made
Dames Commander of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
.
[
In court, a High Court judge is referred to as ''My Lord'' or ''Your Lordship'' if male, or as ''My Lady'' or ''Your Ladyship'' if female.] High Court judges use the title in office of ''Mr Justice'' for men or, normally, ''Mrs
Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as ''Doctor'', ''Prof ...
Justice'' for women, even if unmarried.[ When Alison Russell was appointed in 2014, she took the title "Ms Justice Russell". The style of '']The Honourable
''The Honourable'' ( British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of cert ...
'' (or ''The Hon'') is also used during office.[ For example, Joseph Bloggs would be referred to as The Hon Mr Justice Bloggs and Jane Bloggs as The Hon Mrs Justice Bloggs . When there is already or has until recently been a judge with the same (or a confusingly similar) surname as a new appointee, the new judge will often use a first name as part of their official title. Many judges have done this, such as Mr Justice Christopher Clarke (Sir ''Christopher'' Simon Courtenay Stephenson Clarke) and Mr Justice Roderick Evans (Sir David ''Roderick'' Evans).
When referring to a High Court judge in a legal context, the judge is identified by use of the surname (or first name and surname if appropriate), followed by the letter 'J'. For example, Mr Justice Bloggs or Mrs Justice Bloggs would be referred to as "Bloggs J". When two or more judges are listed the letters 'JJ' are used; for example, "Bloggs, Smith and Jones JJ".
]
Appointment
High Court judges are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Lord Chancellor
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...
. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law L ...
the Judicial Appointments Commission has removed the appointment of judges from the overtly political arena. High Court judges, as with other judges, are appointed on open competition.
High Court judges, as with all judges in England and Wales, hold office during good behaviour; this is laid down in the Act of Settlement 1701, ch.2, s.3 . This gives them greater security of tenure than if they held office during His or Her Majesty's pleasure and is designed to protect their independence. A High Court judge can only be removed by the King upon an Address of both Houses of Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
.
Formerly, High Court judges could only be appointed from among barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law a ...
s of at least 10 years' standing.[ Before the qualifications changed, a typical appointee had in the region of twenty to thirty years' experience as a lawyer. Only four ]solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor an ...
s had been appointed as puisne judges – Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, Henry Hodge in 2004, and Gary Hickinbottom in 2008. Collins was elevated further to the Court of Appeal in 2007 and became a law lord in 2009. Occasionally more junior members of the judiciary are elevated to this rank, such as Mr Justice Crane who was formerly a Circuit Judge and Mrs Justice Butler-Sloss (now Baroness Butler-Sloss) who was previously a registrar
A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. The term may refer to:
Education
* Registrar (education), an official in an academic institution who handles student records
* Registrar of the University of Oxford, one of the sen ...
in the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court. A few distinguished academics have also made it on to the High Court bench, including Mrs Justice Hale (now Baroness Hale of Richmond
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or k ...
) and, more recently, Mr Justice Beatson. In 2004, calls for increased diversity among the judiciary were recognised and the qualification period was changed so that, as of 21 July 2008, a potential High Court judge must satisfy the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a seven-year basis.
While High Court judges all have the same jurisdiction, an appointee is in practice allocated to one of the High Court's three divisions: the Chancery Division, the King's Bench Division
The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts.
It hears appeals on poin ...
and the Family Division.
Remuneration
, puisne judge
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common la ...
s of the High Court received a salary of £185,197 per year, the Chancellor of the High Court of £221,757 per year.
See also
*List of High Court Judges of England and Wales
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* Judicial titles in England and Wales
References
External links
Judiciary of England and Wales
{{Judiciary of England and Wales
High Court of Justice
Judiciary of England and Wales