Judiciary of England and Wales

There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales — different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are generally given more weight than district judges sitting in county courts and magistrates' courts. At 31 March 2006 there were 1,825 judges in post in England and Wales, most of whom were circuit judges (626) or district judges (572). Some judges with United Kingdom-wide jurisdiction also sit in England and Wales, particularly Justices of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and members of the tribunals judiciary.

By statute, judges are guaranteed continuing judicial independence.

The following is a list of the various types of judges who sit in the Courts of England and Wales:

Since 3 April 2006, the Lord Chief Justice has been the overall head of the judiciary. Previously he was second to the Lord Chancellor, but that office lost its judicial functions under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The Lord Chief Justice is also the head of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. He was also President of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, but on becoming head of the judiciary that responsibility was transferred to a new office.

Although the Lord Chancellor is no longer a judge, he still exercises disciplinary authority over the judges, jointly with the Lord Chief Justice. He also has a role in appointing judges.

In law reports, the Lord Chief Justice is referred to as (for example) "Smith LCJ" or "Lord Smith CJ", and the Lord Chancellor as "Smith C".

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