A new website about the judiciary is launched today. The launch coincides with the Lord Chief Justice becoming head of the judiciary in England and Wales, a post formerly held by the Lord Chancellor.
The new website provides information about the work of the nearly 42,000 judges, magistrates and tribunal judiciary in England and Wales.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, said: “For the first time anyone with an interest in the judiciary now has easy access to a useful source of information about us.
“It should appeal to those wanting to find out more about the work of the judiciary. It also aims to dispel a few myths – some serious, such as judges are ‘soft’ sentencers, or, in a more light hearted vein, that wooden gavels are used in courts in England and Wales.
“I hope people generally, but students in particular, will find the website useful and interesting. It has a strong educational emphasis that I am keen that we should develop.
“There is an interactive learning section. Users will shortly be able to try their hands at sentencing, using sample cases, or do the quiz - the results of which might well surprise some people. They can also view an online video interview about the future of judiciary which I recently gave to the well known, broadcaster and columnist, Marcel Berlins.”
The website contains a wide range of topics ranging from a look at a typical day in the lives of judicial office-holders, to the sort of court in which each type of judge sits, to what they wear in court and the correct way in which to address judges either in court or in correspondence.
Mike Wicksteed, head of judicial communications, said: “It’s early days yet, but we intend to expand and continually develop the website. We need, and really welcome, user feedback.”
Notes for Editors
- The full details of the constitutional reforms are set out in the 2005 Act.
- A Concordat was agreed between the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, and Lord Falconer for the division and transfer of judiciary-related functions, and this provides some of the details and principles that apply to the new constitutional relationship. The Concordat can be accessed here.
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