Calling judges ‘Sir or Madam’ banned from courts

Lord Chief Justice removes gendered titles in favour of simple, modern terms to keep up with the times

JUDGES will no longer be called “Sir” or “Madam”, in an attempt to keep up with “modern terminology”, the Lord Chief Justice has announced.

Lord Burnett of Maldon, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and Sir Keith Lindblom, senior president of tribunals, have announced changes concerning modes of address in courts and tribunals.

The current practice is to address judges as Sir, Madam or Judge. But the changes now mean that they should only be addressed as Judge.

In a joint statement, they said: “The move away from Sir or Madam involves modern and simple terminology, reflecting the important judicial role while maintaining the necessary degree of respect. We also hope this change in language will assist litigants involved in court and tribunal proceedings.

“This change only involves the way in which judges are addressed in court or tribunals. It does not affect judicial titles, which have a basis in statute, or the way in which judges record their decisions.”

The changes will affect judges in categories including masters, upper tribunal judges, judges of the employment appeal tribunal, district judges, district judges in magistrates’ courts, first-tier tribunal judges, and employment judges. In tribunals, non-legal members will continue to be addressed as Sir or Madam.

Joshua Rozenberg KC, the solicitor and legal commentator, said: “I suppose it will reduce the risk of misgendering judges.

“Calling a judge Judge may sound a bit disrespectful. But it’s how you address them formally when they’re not sitting in open court.”

He said that lay magistrates should still be addressed as Sir or Madam and, if in doubt, “Your Worship” or “Your Worships” could be used.

“Many magistrates will tell you they have been addressed as ‘Your Holiness’ by confused defendants or those hoping for a more benign sentence,” he said.

Asked whether there were specific incidents or complaints regarding misgendering that had led to the policy change, a spokesman for the Judicial Office said: “There really is nothing more to add. The change has been made for the reasons given, for simple and modern terminology. Not due to misgendering.” There have been a number of moves towards genderneutral titles in a range of fields over the past year.

In May, guests in the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot, were allowed to choose gender-neutral titles on their mandatory name badges for the first time.

And in September, the National Grid’s electricity system operator struck out masculine pronouns from its Grid Code, in a move, it argued, that would benefit society and improve its service.