Mobile courts and independence of judiciary

There is often unfair advantages in the trial process as not all members of society have the same access to legal representatives or availability of

The Magistrates’ role was to hear the evidence of distinct cases, criminal or civil matters and decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty to an offence as charged and decide the penalty that will be given to those that are found guilty or plead guilty to an offence. Moreover, the Magistrate determined whether a case should go to a different court or to adjourn the case to another date.

A magistrate is some one who is not paid or is qualified and is only seen in the magistrate’s court which oversees summary criminal cases (magistrate hears about 96% of all criminal cases).

The doctrine of judicial independence rests on three concepts. The first one is the security of tenure of office which is supposed to guarantee judicial officers freedom from the interferences by the parliament or the executive. The doctrine requires

Legitimacy of courts has long been an important factor in the judicial system. However, a more recent concern has been diversity. It is becoming increasingly important for the court to represent those who it serves. “The ECJ’s composition remains unreflective of the millions of black and migrant European Union citizens whom it serves”. Judgements of both the domestic courts of England and Wales along with the European Court of Justice, affect the everyday lives of all EU citizens – including those of minority and underrepresented groups. “Outcomes should not be influenced by considerations of political or financial consequences”. Independence is important as it is vital that each judge is able to decide cases solely on the evidence presented to them by the parties in court. Personal independence is always necessary to ensure that the judiciary as a whole of both the land or the community remains independent. In order for the courts to be fully independent, they must represent the diversity of the people and make decisions in accordance with the law with no other influences. With the growing influence of the government over the last century it has become increasingly important that the judiciary fulfils its responsibility to protect the public against unlawful acts of the government. What has therefore also become increasingly more important is the need for the judiciary to be completely independent from the government. The evidence suggests that the courts nowadays are not

More than ever people are losing access to justice. Even though the global economic crisis affected everyone, and every jurisdictions budget there needs to be a minimum level of funding for legal aid to protect the rights of those that cannot afford legal aid (Hainsworth, 2010). According to Hainsworth, (2010) the Canadian Bar Association has asked for national standards for legal aid, just like there are standards for health care and education. The CBA believes legal aid reform is needed to ensure access to justice for low income people, it also believes funding must be increased and national standards for eligibility and civil coverage are necessary to make the system function properly again.

Judicial Independence is fundamental to democracy, it serves as a guarantor of the rule of law and separation of power . However, nothing is perfect. There is some defect regarding to the judicial independence and solution must be made to curb the weakness.

Magistrates are volunteers who hear cases in courts in their community. Each case is usually heard by 3 magistrates, including a magistrate who is trained to act as a chairperson

The role of the custody officer was created by the Police and Criminal evidence act 1984 (PACE act). Throughout this essay I will be discussing the role of the custody officer and exploring the stages that must be undertaken when a person is detained and processed through custody post arrest. I will also discuss the various sections of the Human Rights Act 1998 that are affected when a person is detained, the limits of a persons detention, and the processes that must be undertaken if the custody officer wishes to extend the time that a person is kept in custody. I will be exploring the duties of the custody officer and what the job role entails on a day to day basis. Whatever is done by the custody officer is to be undertaken in a certain

The second part of the paper will review the arguments of crown and counsel while comparing them towards the judge’s decision. Counsel argued the accused the accused use of

The importance of legal representation to those considered to be poor or disadvantaged is vital to the outcome they receive in legal processes. In saying this, eligibility for public funded representation such as legal aid can be difficult to obtain (Hall 1993). Legal aid provides assistance to people unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system (Hall 1993). Legal aid is defined as a grant of legal assistance free-of-charge, for people who cannot afford their own representation and meet certain criteria such as a means test to determine eligibility (Australian Government 2017). Published research has illustrated that the chances of people being successful rises from 20 percent to 35 percent when professionally represented

No magistrate. Sessions judge or any court has jurisdiction to grant interim bail during the pendency of bail application in that court. Order granting short term bail should be quashed. If the magistrate, sessions judge feel that such a course should be adopted and it is always open to them either to dispose of the application on the same day and in the alternative release the accused on executing personal bond till the disposal of the application. It may be also pointed out that the applicant is entitled to claim the benefit of the proviso to section 497 (1) Cr.P.C which contains special provision for bail to women. Minors under16 years of age and sick or infirm persons.

For instance, if the parliament, acting on public opinion, was to make a law severely curbing the rights of some minority, the supreme court has the right to struck it down as unconstitutional, irrespective of the public support behind that law. This principle takes into account the notion that popular sentiments should not always be reflected in state policies, especially when they contradict the law. The process of judicial elections, however, is entirely based on public support as the basic legitimizing criteria for the justice system and fails to consider the fallibility of popular opinions. And, when judges are elected to their offices, the cannot work irrespective of public opinion which helped them gain their seat in the bench. Therefore, election of judges contradicts the basic principles of democracy as well as independence of the judiciary.

Through the study of human history it is evident authoritative and monarch governments prevailed as legitimate authorities but with careful considerations these political systems were seen as inaccurate by many. New political systems, functions and responsibilities soon began to surface. Democracy was among these new political systems and argues for the influence of citizens in politics and the protection of rights (Dahl, 1998, p. 44). Democracy can be found through many political systems around the world particularly in first world countries such as Canada and the United States of America. Fortunately the notions of democracy can also be found in some developing countries such as India. ¬¬¬Although democratic views and notions are found throughout Indian politics and its associated practices India does not prove to be completely democratic in relation to Robert Dahl’s criteria of democracy highlighted in his book, On Democracy. Robert Dahl, a political scientist and professor, sets up 5 criteria of democracy that includes effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding, inclusion and control of agenda (Dahl, 1998, p. 36-7). He argues that a sense of true democracy is founded when all 5 criteria of democracy are fulfilled (Dahl, 1998, p. 36). Unfortunately India is unable to accommodate the criteria of voting equality and effective participation due to its

Distinction of roles between judges and juries is a further fundamental difference between the adversarial and inquisitorial systems. In an adversarial system, there is a division of work between a judge and jury. The role of the judge is to adjudicate the issue of law and to ensure that the trial proceeds comply with the procedural and substantial laws, while the role of the jury is to adjudicate the issue of facts as served by the opposing parties based on the law given by judges. Generally, a judge will not interfere in jury’s decision making, but this approach varies subject to matters being decided in the criminal or civil cases. In civil cases, a judge has a power to set aside a decision taken by jury if such decision was not made in accordance with the applicable law. However, in criminal cases a judge does not