The Place of the Magistrates Court
 

 

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Anthony and Berryman's Magistrates' Court Guide

by Terence Moore
Published 2004
Butterworths Law
Paperback
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The Magistrate's Tale

by Trevor Grove

Published September, 2003
Bloomsbury
Paperback
Read more...

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THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

Since April 2005 all 650 Crown, County and Magistrates' Courts in England and Wales now come under one administrative roof, that of Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS), for the first time. This ends the previously long-standing separation between Magistrates' Courts, which were administered by a total of 42 independent local committees, and the government-run Court Service that ran the Court of Appeal, the High Court and all Crown and County courts.

Magistrates are appointed to a commission area and, for administrative convenience, are allocated to a particular Petty Sessional Division (often referred to as the Bench).

Each Petty Sessional Division has a Justices' Clerk who may also have responsibility for other Petty Sessional Divisions. The clerk is responsible for advising the Magistrates on the law and for ensuring the efficient running of the Courts and Offices. A team of qualified Legal Advisors assists the Clerk in ensuring that each Court has advice on law, procedure and sentencing.

The Magistrates' Courts are part of the criminal justice system and the flow chart on the following page indicates how the Magistrates' Courts play a part in that system.