§ Mr. MacDougallTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary. Lord Chancellor's Department for what reason people over the age of 70 are barred from(a) being magistrates and (b) jury service. [76127]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 21 October 2002]:
(a)The upper age for serving as a magistrate was set by Parliament after wide consultation and was generally supported. It enables individual magistrates to continue to make a contribution to the administration of justice for a long time.
(b)The Juries Act 1974 set the upper age limit for jury service at 65. This limit was later increased to 70 by the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The recent review of the Criminal Justice System by Lord Justice Auld, which considered the structure and representation of juries made no recommendation on increasing the upper age limit for jury service.
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