as we can see , magistrates are either unpaid voluntary appointees which form a bench of 2 till 7 members which known as the lay magistrates or stipendary magistrates who sit alone to decides on cases in the magistrates court which they have legal background.
a magistrates need not have a formal qualification . however there are some categories of people who are not eligible to serve on magistracy. in the official booklet on the appointment of the justice of peace act 1979 prescribe that the most important consideration of the selection is that the person should be personally suitable in character and he should also need to understand the importance of the work that he is undertaking to perform.
the lay magistrates can claim expenses on travelling, loses on earnings and subsistence and is usually not qualified in the law. they are appointed by the lord chancellor under section 6 of the justice of peace act 1979 and various disqualification apply, for example , undischarged bankrupts . in practice , others will not be appointed including those who are over the age of 60 and those who convicted serious offences.
about 1500 new lay magistrates are appointed each year. in order to decide who to appoint, the lord chancellor relies on the recommendation made to him by the local advisory committees and this method of appointments is much criticized. the criticisms is that the membership of the committees used to be secret but since 1993 all names must be publish.
section 13 and 31 are provided for stipendary magistrates to be appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the lord chancellor from the barrister. section 17 (10)of the court and legal service act 1990 the magistrates must be of 7 years standing in line with the general qualification of the relevant right of guidance.
within one year of appointment the newly appointed magistrates must undergo with training course in sentencing aims and practice, criminal law and evidence and the role of the court clerk and others. magistrates are also required to sit at least 26 times a year and in practice they mostly sit more frequently and thereby acquired experience and training while performing their role.
the magistrates try 98% of all criminal cases and hear preliminary hearings in the remaining 2 % which includes early administrative hearings, remand hearings, bail application and committal proceedings.they also deal with civil matters including the enforcing of debts owed to the utilities ,non payment of council tax and non payment of television license. in addition they hear appeals from the refusal of local authority to grant license for the sale of alcohol and license for betting and gaming establishment. lay magistrates also sit at the crown court to hear appeals from magistrate court. in these cases the lay justices form a panel with qualified judge.
in a more positive view, the system of magistrates are cost effective. if the magistrates court were to be dispensed and if paid personnel were to be employed , the administration of criminal justice would be long and expensive.
moreover, the lay magistrates are assisted by a professional , the court clerk. this ensure consistency and accuracy in decision making. magistrates are required to sit at least 26 times ina year . at the same time a magistrate who regularly sit over several years will no doubt build up a vast amount of experience.
however, magistrates may also be seen to be much under control by the court clerk, but of course this may only be as it seems and in any event a clerk is not permitted to make a decision for the magistrates but only offer advises. over reliance on the clerk will bring inability of justice.
another criticism is that, a bench of 3 magistrates will comprise 2 less senior and a more experienced who acts as a chairman. the chairman will have the casting vote where the other 2 may defer to what they see their better judgement. it is often seen that the lay magistrates have little knowledge of law, evidence and procedure and little training.
magistrates also drawn from a narrow social background and some have describes them as " do -gooders" who , for want of other things to fill their time , fulfill this public role. allied with this is the criticism that magistrates are' middle-aged, middle-class and middle-minded' , and that in all the system encourages the provision of justices ' on the cheap'.
as my conclusion, the system of lay magistrates in the UK is undoubtedly very quick and cost effective and further it is also reasonably efficient. however, the system is not perfect as it seems as there are various criticism that have been levied against the system.
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