Consultation launched on Judicial discipline regulations

OJC 06/12

The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the rules and regulations governing the procedures concerning the handling of complaints and discipline of judges today (29 February).

The consultation document, drawn up by a working party chaired by, Lord Justice Toulson, a Court of Appeal judge, sets out 21 recommendations for improvement to the complaints process. They aim to streamline the process to deliver a just, efficient system that is proportionate and balances transparency with the need for confidentiality.

The consultation follows a review carried out at the request of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice who have joint responsibility for judicial discipline.

The consultation runs from 29 February to 23 May. The consultation document is available on the OJC website

Comments on the proposed recommendations will be analysed by the OJC and a response published within three months of the consultation closing date. The intention is that any new regulations will be laid before Parliament with a view to implementation in late 2012/early 2013.

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Notes for Editors

1. The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) was set up on the 3 April 2006, to handle complaints and provide advice and assistance to the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice in the performance of their joint role considering and determining complaints about the personal conduct of all judicial office holders in England and Wales and some judicial office holders who sit in Tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
2. The OJC deals with complaints about the personal conduct of judges. It cannot help you if you disagree with a judge’s decision or case management directions, or if you think a judge has made a legal error.
3. For more information about the Office, including details on how to make a complaint against a judicial office holder, you can visit the OJC website
4. Media queries in relation to the OJC should be made in the first instance to the Judicial Press Office – telephone 020 7073 4852 or via e-mail:press.enquiries@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk