III. Judicial system in Great Britain

Some important judicial officers in Great Britain

I

The Lord Chancellor is the Speaker of the House of Lords and the ultimate Head of the Judiciary in that he is the chief judge in the country and controls the administration of the courts of law. He is also the Chairman of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He advises the Crown on the appointment of High Court Judges, and Circuit Judges. He is responsible for the appointment of Justices of the Peace, and advises on the appointment of Recorders¹, Stipendiary Magistrates and Metropolitan Police Magistrates. He is the custodian of the Great Seal, which represents the signature of the Crown in its corporate capacity and all writs of summons in the High Court are witnesses in his name. Unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons, he may take part in debates and may vote in all divisions, but has no casting vote. The office is political, and the holder is a Cabinet Minister. His position serves to support the contention that there is no separation of judicial, legislative and executive powers in the British Constitution.

The Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General² are known as the Law Officers³. The appointments are political and change with the government. As a rule the Law Officers are not members of the Cabinet.

The Attorney-General is appointed by Letters Patent⁴ under the Great Seal, and usually is a member of the House of Commons. He represents the Crown in civil matters and prosecutes in important criminal cases. He is the Head of the English Bar⁵ and points of professional etiquette are referred to him. He also advises government departments on legal matters, and advises the court on matters of parliamentary privilege. He can institute legislation on behalf of the public, e.g. to stop a public nuisance and to enforce or regulate public charitable trusts.

The Solicitor-General is the subordinate of the Attorney-General, and sometimes gives a joint opinion with him when asked by government departments. In spite of his title he is a barrister, and he need not, strictly speaking, be in the House of Commons. His duties are similar to those of the Attorney-General and he is in many ways his deputy. Both Law Officers are precluded from private practice. The Law Officers Act, 1944 provides that any functions authorized or required to be discharged by the Attorney –General may be discharged by the Solicitor-General, if the office of Attorney –General is vacant, or if the Attorney –General is unable to act because of absence or illness or where the Attorney –General authorizes the Solicitor-General to act in any particular matter.

II

Masters⁶. Many matters arise for decision between the time of issue of the writ and the trial of the action, e.g. what documents must be shown by one side to the other; what time should be allowed for putting in statements of claim and defenses; what is the most convenient and proper place for the trial to be held. These will be dealt with by a master, but sometimes by a judge.

Queen’s Bench Masters are salaried officials of the High Court appointed from among the barristers of not less than ten years’ standing. They have also some judicial functions and deal with the matters leading to the trial of cases in the Queen’s Bench Division⁷.

Chancery Masters are salaried officials of the High Court appointed from among the solicitors of not less than ten years’ standing. They have also some judicial functions and deal with the matters leading to the trial of cases in the Chancery Division⁸.

District Registrars⁹. In most important provincial towns there is a District Registrar, who performs the same functions as a master in London.

Taxing Masters¹⁰ are salaried officials of the Supreme Court concerned with the levying of costs. They fix the amount which one party to an action is directed to pay to the other by way of costs. They are solicitors of at least ten years’ standing, and are appointed by the Lord Chancellor with the agreement of the Treasury.

Treasury Counsels are barristers who have been nominated by the Attorney-General to receive briefs from the Director of Public Prosecutions in respect of prosecutions at the Central Criminal Court.

The Director of Public Prosecutions. The office of Director of Public Prosecutions was created by the Prosecution of Offences Act, 1879. He is appointed by the Home Secretary from among barristers and solicitors of not less than ten years’ standing but acts under the superintendence of the Attorney-General. He must prosecute through his own staff or Treasury Counsel in those cases where the offence is punishable by death, in manslaughter, and where a statute requires him to conduct or consent to prosecution.

He must give advice, either on his own initiative, or when requested to do so, to clerks, to justices, chief officers of police, or other persons concerned in criminal proceedings, which have actually begun, and take over the prosecution from either the police or a private prosecutor where the case is of special importance or difficulty. He also acts in cases where the public interest requires a prosecution, and where a private individual fails to prosecute or where there are special difficulties in the way. Unless there is a representative of a government department or a private prosecutor acting, he appears for the Crown in appeals to the Court of Appeal.

III

Official Referee’s Business. Cases which involve detailed examination of books and documents, e.g. accounts, are referred separately for trial, and are know as Official Referee’s Business. Two Circuit Judges are available to deal with Official Referee’s Business on each circuit other than the South Eastern Circuit. On that circuit functions conferred on Official Referees are carried out by the three circuit judges who were Official Referees immediately before the coming into force of the Courts Act, 1971.

The Official Solicitor is an officer of the Supreme Court who acts in legislation to protect the interests of persons suffering under mental disability. He is also concerned to protect the interests of children in adoption matters and those of persons imprisoned for contempt of court.

Circuit Administrators¹¹. The Royal Commission on Assizes and Quarter Sessions recommended the appointment of a Circuit Administrator in each of the six circuits into which England and Wales was divided. A legal qualification is not essential, but if the applicant is legally qualified he must be a barrister or solicitor of at least ten years’ standing during which time he or she must have been in practice or had substantial experience in the courts. Their function is to a large extent managerial and they took over from the Clerks of Assize, Clerks of the Peace, and other officers of the numerous different courts who previously had to try to provide the public and the legal profession with a court service. There is now one person at each High Court and Crown Court Center to whom all involved can turn in respect of administrative problems.

Circuit Administrators must as far as possible ensure prompt hearings for civil and criminal cases in their centers. Six appointments were made and Circuit Administrators are now based in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, and Manchester. Their function in the new High Court and Crown Court Centers is to decide whether cases should be heard by High Court Judges or Circuit Judges.

Presiding Judges. Two High Court Judges known as Presiding Judges are assigned to each of the six Circuits in England and Wales. They take it in turn to spend substantial periods of time in the area and have general responsibility for the local High Court and Crown Court Center. They see to the convenient and efficient distribution of judges in the area, acting on the advice of the Circuit Administrator. There are three Presiding Judges on the South Eastern region, one of whom is the Lord Chief Justice¹².

Commentary

1. Recorder – рикодер (мировой судья)

2. Solicitor-general – зам. Генерального прокурора

3. Law Officers – юристы короны

4. Letters Patent – жалованная грамота

5. the Bar – коллегия адвокатов

6. master – судебный распорядитель

7. the Queen’s Bench Division – суд королевской скамьи

8. the Chancery Division – канцлерское отделение

9. district registrar – судебный распорядитель (в провинции)

10. taxing master – распорядитель по судебным издержкам

11. circuit administrator – управляющий делами судебного округа

12. Lord Chief Justice – председатель суда королевской скамьи

Active vocabulary

To hold office

To have a casting vote

judicial, legislative and executive powers

to be appointed by; appointment

Solicitor

Barrister

to prosecute somebody in something

to institute legislation on behalf of the public

a party to an action

to stop a public nuisance

to enforce something

to regulate public charitable trusts

to act under the superintendence of smb.

to protect the interests of children in adoption matters

to protect the interests of the person suffering under mental disability

for contempt of court

legal qualification

an applicant

to ensure prompt hearings for civil and criminal cases

Assignment I. Topics for discussion.

1. The Lord Chancellor’s activities

2. The Law Officers’ responsibilities

3. Masters. Name all kinds of masters and describe their routine

4. Official Referee’s Business

5. Circuit Administrators’ duties

6. Presiding Judges’ job