District judges

The work of District Judges involves a wide spectrum of civil and family law cases such as claims for damages and injunctions, possession proceedings against mortgage borrowers and property tenants, divorces, child proceedings, domestic violence injunctions, court of protection, anti-social behaviour injunctions, committals and insolvency proceedings.

The jurisdiction of the District Judges is the widest of any judicial appointment.

Where they sit

District Judges can be full or part time but they do not undertake work outside of their judicial role. They deal with most cases in the county courts. They are assigned on appointment to a particular circuit and may sit at any of the county courts or district registries of the High Court on that circuit.

A District Registry is part of the High Court situated in various districts of England and Wales, dealing with High Court family and civil business. District Registries are often co-located at County Courts when the District Judges sitting there will case-manage High Court cases.

Given that 80% of all civil and family work in the courts of England & Wales is conducted in the County Court, the vast majority of court users will have the matters adjudicated upon by a District Judge

Appointment

District Judges are appointed by the King, following a fair and open competition administered by the Judicial Appointments Commission, and the statutory qualification is five-years of appropriate professional legal experience such as a practicing as a barrister, solicitor or legal-executive. The Lord Chancellor will normally only consider applicants who have been serving Deputy District Judges for two years or who have completed 30 sittings in that capacity. There are currently over 400 District Judges in post.

Court dress

District Judges do most of their work wearing a normal business suit, but in open court District Judges wear the civil robe introduced in October 2008, with blue tabs at the neck and without a wig. District Judges must wear robes for committal hearings

Deputy District Judge

Deputy District Judges are appointed by the Lord Chancellor after a fair and open competition administered by the Judicial Appointments Commission, and the statutory qualification is the same as that for appointment as a district judge – a minimum of appropriate professional legal experience.

Deputy District Judges sit on a fee-paid basis in the County Courts and District Registries of the High Court for between 15 and 50 days a year. In general, their jurisdiction is the same as that of a District Judge.

Appointments are for five years and are automatically extended by the Lord Chancellor for further successive terms of five years – subject to the office holder’s agreement and the retirement age of 75.