Who are the Judiciary?

• Independence
• Impartiality
• Integrity

The judiciary is made up of judges, magistrates, tribunal members, and coroners.

Together, they uphold the rule of law.

Judges and other members of the judiciary oversee cases, in different types of courts and tribunals and in different areas of law across the country.

Find out more

Latest judgments

• October 13, 2026

  PLG -v- Secretary of State for Defence (anonymity order)

• October 12, 2026

  R -v- Kozlowski and others

• October 9, 2026

  R -v- FRY and others

• October 8, 2026

  Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor -v- The Central Criminal Court and another

Latest news

• October 15, 2026

  Lord Justice Fancourt

  Read the judge’s biography

• October 15, 2026

  Speech by the Master of the Rolls: The future of cross border dispute resolution

  Sir Geoffrey Vos spoke at the International Chamber of Commerce, Dispute Resolution in a Geopolitical World, event

• October 15, 2026

  Lady Chief Justice attends ceremony as blue plaque is unveiled for pioneering female magistrate  

  The Lady Chief Justice joined the unveiling of a blue plaque honouring pioneering magistrate, Gertrude Tuckwell, and her lasting impact on the justice system

• October 9, 2026

  Position Statement on the Judicial use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  Statement setting out how AI is used, how it is governed, what safeguards are in place, and how the approach is kept under review

Find out more

Business and Property Courts

Specialist courts which decide business, commercial, property, technology and construction disputes, both domestic and international.

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal deals exclusively with people challenging the decisions made by other courts or tribunals. It has two divisions, Criminal and Civil (the latter also hears family appeals).

High Court

The High Court hears the most serious administrative, civil and family cases. It has three divisions – King’s Bench, Family and Chancery.

Tribunals

The Tribunals are specialist judicial bodies whose judges and members hear a wide range of cases, such as tax, employment, and immigration and asylum. The Upper Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal hear appeals challenging some tribunal decisions.

See more courts and tribunals

Magistrates’ courts

Magistrates, or Justices of the Peace as they are also known, are trained, volunteer members of the local community who make decisions in criminal and family cases in Magistrates’ courts and the Family Court. The most complex cases in Magistrates’ courts are heard by District Judges who are legally qualified specialists.

Coroners’ courts

Coroners investigate certain deaths which are deemed to be unnatural, violent, or where the cause is unknown.

Popular links

Family Justice Council

Civil Justice Council

Appointments and retirements

Court of Appeal live hearings