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

• May 12, 2026

  Tesco Stores Limited -v- Ms K Element and others

• May 12, 2026

  George Martin and others -v- The Chancellor of the Exchequer and HMRC

• May 12, 2026

  Acer Incorporated and another -v- Nokia Technologies OY, and others

• May 12, 2026

  R -v- Duncan Heaton

Latest news

• May 12, 2026

  Lady Chief Justice visits Canada and meets with Prime Minister Mark Carney

  During her visit the Lady Chief Justice met with Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, to discuss shared values between the two nations.

• May 11, 2026

  Update from Mr Justice Peel, Judge in Charge of the Standard Orders

  Find out about the updates to both Volume 1 (Financial Remedies Orders) and Volume 2 (Children and Other orders)

• May 10, 2026

  Chapter 16: Reports to prevent future deaths (PFDs)

  Find out more about Chapter 16

• May 8, 2026

  Disclosure Review Working Group considering simplification of Practice Direction 57AD

  You can email in any comments to the judiciary-led working group about simplifying disclosure rules for the Business and Property Courts

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