The importance of our judges as courts face changing times
Lord Burnett, the new Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, will visit Cardiff this week. Here, he outlines how he wants to see judges better understood and courts modernised...
IAM a little over two months into the job of Lord Chief Justice, and am pleased to be visiting Wales in that capacity for a second time.
Getting out to meet judges, court users and lawyers is a vital part of what I do.
We are fortunate to have a firstclass justice system across the whole country, and some truly excellent men and women who deliver justice here in Wales.
In my new role, I hear some of the most serious and complex cases both in London and when I sit in courts around the country.
This is my first opportunity to sit outside London since becoming Chief Justice, and I am looking forward to sitting in Cardiff ’s fine Edwardian Crown Court with two High Court Judges to hear criminal appeals.
Many news stories covered in the Western Mail (and Wales Online) are criminal cases: a burglary, a case of domestic violence, and a drugs case all featured in the headlines just last week.
And the journalists working for newspapers, radio, television, and websites here and around Britain do an excellent job so that justice is seen to be done.
But I worry that people are only seeing part of justice, because most people get their knowledge of judges from the reports they see and read, and these are usually the biggest and most newsworthy cases.
Or people watch TV and film dramas, which, while entertaining, do not always show the true picture of what judges deal with.
One of the things I want to achieve as Lord Chief Justice is to try to help people understand and appreciate the hundreds of judges and magistrates working incredibly hard in their local area on the vast majority of cases that don’t make the news.
Judges work tirelessly making important, often life-changing decisions; day in, day out, in difficult circumstances.
The district judges, deciding disputes between businesses or individuals, perhaps settling simmering rows between neighbours, as well as many family cases. The circuit judges, who not only deal with criminal cases in the Crown Court, but who also hear larger civil and family disputes.
The tribunals judges resolving a wide range of disputes, including many between the individual and the state, ruling on things like unfair dismissal or loss of benefits.
And our unpaid magistrates from many walks of life who deal with the majority of criminal and many family cases.
The breadth of work was brought home to me as recently as October when I was in Cardiff for the opening of the legal year, and again this week when I will swear in the inaugural President of Welsh Tribunals, Sir Wyn Williams.
That is a new post that has been created to recognise the needs of tribunals particular to Wales, and I can think of no-one better qualified to do it at this time than such an experienced judge, who has such a vast experience of cases in Wales over the past few years. Also, I would like people to appreciate that what goes on in court is only part of the work a judge does.
There are long hours out of court, away from the public gaze.
I want to do more to improve understanding of the role of judges, not just by what I do and say, but by publicising the unsung community work that many judges already do, and by my colleagues making more visits to local schools, and by children going to the courts. I would also encourage their parents to pay a visit to their courts. It is something we maybe take for granted in Britain, but nearly all hearings are open to the public.
If you do visit, I hope you will see that the courts are changing from the way they appeared in the last television drama you saw, because we are currently in the middle of reforming our courts and tribunals service.
I find it quite remarkable that towards the end of the second decade of the 21st Century, many of our courts still operate on paper-based systems.
Cardiff Crown Court was one of the first to replace it with computer screens, I’m pleased to say, and it is changing across the country.
Soon, many minor cases in the criminal and civil courts will even be capable of being dealt with online – things like fare evasion and traffic offences.
This is really just the beginning. It will make dealing with our courts and tribunals – for individuals, businesses and lawyers alike – quicker and simpler.
And we will improve our buildings.
As I said I am lucky enough to be sitting in the beautiful surrounds of Cardiff Crown Court this week, but some of our buildings are in a terrible state. The reforms will make the conditions better for all of those who work in or use the justice system.