The Magistrates' Association is the membership organisation for

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. By virtue of its education and training functions it is a

charitable organisation A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

and is funded by its members to promote the magistracy.

History

The idea of forming an association of magistrates came from a

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

magistrate, Alderman Wilkins, in 1920. The inaugural meeting of the association was held at Central Hall, Westminster, on 28 October 1921. Lord Haldane was elected the association's first president. Thereafter the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

of the day was president, but when the role of the Lord Chancellor changed with the passing of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 the

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

took on the role. By 1945, membership had grown to 5,288 members, and it had 16,354 at its fiftieth Anniversary in 1970. Today, it represents over 80% of active magistrates. It received a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in October 1962.

Objectives

The association was established to: :"promote the sound administration of the law by educating and instructing magistrates and others in the law, the administration of justice, the treatment of offenders and the best methods of preventing crime; and promoting discussion on developments in the law and the administration of justice." Since 1969, it has helped to develop various sentencing guidelines. It also organises conferences and publishes a magazine, ''Magistrate''. Members also participate in local branch activities. The governing body is the Board of Trustees. A Council advises the Board. Various standing committees are populated by association members and focus on specific areas of magistrates' activities. The current chair is Mark Beattie JP.

Publications

The association publishes a magazine, ''Magistrate'' (formerly ''The Magistrate''), several times each year. It has also issued a number of reports which are available from its website. A book ''The Magistracy at the Crossroads'' was published by Waterside Press in 2012.

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magistrates' Association Charities based in London Criminal justice 1921 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1921