Is it difficult to become a judge in the UK? Can foreigners become judges in Great Britain? This article teaches you how to become a judge and gain a rewarding career in the legal profession.
Sitting in court as a judge is a position of great responsibility. You will decide the fate of those who come into your court room, for better or for worse. The judge is the peak of legal practice, offering an alternative legal profession to that of solicitors or barristers.
The judge sits at the heart of the legal profession. Unlike the solicitor or barrister, a judge does not represent either side of a legal argument. Instead, they are the person responsible for hearing the case and making a judgement on blame, assets, or other resources affected.
If you are a judge in the UK, you can expect the following responsibilities within your judicial office:
As a judge, you may travel often. There are courts all over the country. You might work in a court or in an office. There are different kinds of judges. You may take a role as a crown court judge, a high court judge, a recorder, or a tribunal judge.
The crown court is the standard court within the UK. It operates on behalf of the crown, prosecuting those who have committed illegal acts. When these illegal acts are ordinary and unremarkable, they go through judgement in this court. Cases in the crown court are overseen by recorders or circuit judges.
You may also have a judicial career as a high court judge. The high court is where serious crimes are tried. There are three divisions in the high court. High court judges are known as ‘The Honourable.’
To follow a judicial career path, you will have to go through the judicial selection process. This means applying for a vacancy through the Supreme Court, who appoint judges. If you wish to be considered for judicial appointments to a judicial office in the legal profession you must go through the judicial selection process. To do this, you must have judge qualifications.
Although there are no set formal qualifications to become a judge, there is training which you can pursue through colleges, in which you will have full training for the role.
The typical solicitor and a judge is to gain legal experience in another capacity, such as in the role of solicitor, and apply for judicial office from there.
Apprenticeships do not exist for this role. Instead, you will only pass the judicial selection process if you meet the educational and experiential requirements.
To become a judge, you must have sufficient legal experience. This usually indicates that you need a prior qualification in law and years of experience in actual practice of that knowledge. The judiciary system has structured advancement opportunities. You might take a specialty, move up to the high court, or change from fee-paying roles in the lower courts only to later move into the upper courts, where you take paid positions.
The typical judge salary in the UK starts at £101,000 for a recorder or circuit judge. As you progress through your judicial career you stand to earn a higher rate. An experienced judge’s salary can be as high as £295,000.
If you area foreigner living in the UK and wondering how to become a judge, then you may be disappointed. The court system only allows judicial appointments to citizens of the UK, or to those who hold dual citizenship with the UK. You may wish to pursue a career as a solicitor or barrister instead.
