§ 40. Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department on how many occasions since May 1997 the Lord Chancellor has had cause to reprimand members of the judiciary for inappropriate comments made in court. [118166]
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§ Jane KennedyThe Lord Chancellor, as Head of the Judiciary, is responsible for dealing with all matters of judicial conduct. He takes a firm line with any Judge whose behaviour falls short of what both he and the public expects. Since May 1997 there have been five instances where he has had cause to reprimand a Judge for comments made in court.
§ Ms McCaffertyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans the Government have to institute a complaints procedure against Judges. [119192]
§ Jane KennedyProcedures for investigating complaints about the personal conduct of Judges are well established. The Lord Chancellor will ask the Judge to comment on the complaint and will study those comments very carefully before sending a full reply. He may also obtain the tape recording or transcript of proceedings or seek the views of others who were present. The Lord Chancellor expects all Judges to uphold the standards of courtesy and consideration which generally exist in British public life. He therefore takes the handling of complaints very seriously.
Given the independence of the judiciary the Lord Chancellor cannot investigate complaints about judicial decisions. If a litigant is dissatisfied with the outcome of a hearing, the remedy is to take legal advice and appeal to a superior court if so advised.