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

• September 29, 2026

  The Environment Agency -v- South West Water

• September 29, 2026

  Re: C (Child Arrangements Orders; Domestic Abuse; Child Focused Court)

• September 25, 2026

  R -v- Beytullah Gunduz

• September 25, 2026

  R -v- James and Newton

Latest news

• August 3, 2026

  High Court of Justice – Summer vacation notice 2026

  Find out which judges are covering the various courts during the summer vacation from now until Thursday 1 October 2026

• September 30, 2026

  Child defendants in the Crown Court – sixth edition

  Read this latest edition of the bench book, which aims to gather in one place everything relating to child defendants that a Crown Court judge or recorder needs to know

• September 30, 2026

  Practice Direction on Listing and guidance for live links in the criminal courts comes into effect tomorrow

  A new national framework for listing criminal cases and guidance on remote participation comes into effect on 1 October, supporting fairness, consistency and efficiency across the criminal courts

• September 29, 2026

  Administrative Court Practice Statement: Applications for urgent consideration

  A request that parties seeking urgent consideration must comply strictly with Chapter 17 of the Administrative Court Judicial Review Guide – which has just been published on the judicial website, in the Guidance and Resources section

Find out more

Business and Property Courts

Specialist courts which decide business, commercial, property and other chancery disputes and 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