Law Question - help

I'm stuck as to what to write..please help:

"Outline how a judge can be dismissed from office and comment on why it is important that it should be difficult to dismiss a judge" :confused:

Reply 1

e_machine

if it is a superior judge the only way he/she could be dismisesd is by a petition from the houses of parliment. this is called tenure of superior judge.if it is a inferior judgehe/she could be dismisesd is by the lord chancellor for incapcity or misbehiviiour eg. drink driving. it should be diificult to get rid of judges so that they have poltical independance one which is job security, salary. comment on how its good to get rid of judges but low profile to cause less haveck to the judiciry.

i hope i helped u enough
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ps Tenure means job securit

Reply 2

FunkyIguana

StripeyGirl

I'm stuck as to what to write..please help:

"Outline how a judge can be dismissed from office and comment on why it is important that it should be difficult to dismiss a judge" :confused:

Ah! A slight variation of the question I had on my legal personnel AS paper in the summer :smile:

As e-machine said, this is asking for a description of the ways in which a judge can be removed from office, but also asking for analysis of why this process can be difficult. Although there are probably a number of approaches you could take, I would recommend something along the lines of:

INTRODUCTION
- general introduction ("judges can be divided into two main types, superior and inferior... these categories affect the way judges can be dismissed).
- brief outline of a superior judge (how they're appointed, role)
- brief outline of an inferior judge (appointment, role)

REMOVAL
- seen as important that a judge must be independent
- superior judges therefore have "security of tenure" (Act Of Settlement 1701), meaning they can only be removed from office by the Queen following a petition by both Houses of Parliament
- the Lord Chancellor can remove any judge deemed incapable to perform his duty through ill health
- inferior judges can be dismissed by the Lord Chancellor for incapacity or misbehaviour (Courts Act 1971)
- in 2000, the Lord Chancellor stated that refusal to participate in training requirements or sitting requirements would also be grounds for removal from office
- in addition, any decision by the Lord Chancellor to remove an inferior judge would only follow an independent investigation by another judge, and must be agreed to by the Lord Chief Justice

IMPORTANCE
- why it's important for judges to have security
- judges must be protected from removal at the whim of a government, so they are not pressurised into following a political party's own agenda
- Montesquieu's "separation of powers" theory; the three branches of a state (executive, legislature and judiciary) must be kept separate to safeguard the rights of the citizen
- mention the controversy of the Lord Chancellor's role; he is involved in all three branches! (member of the cabinet, member of the House of Lords, a senior judge) :eek: