One way to volunteer is to become a magistrate in either an adult or youth court.
Magistrates come from a wide range of backgrounds and occupations. You don’t need a formal qualification or knowledge of the law, but you do need to demonstrate six key qualities:
- good character
- understanding and communication
- social awareness
- maturity and sound temperament
- sound judgement
- commitment and reliability.
Magistrates' courts can only deal with young people under the age of 18 if they are being tried with an adult. Almost all cases involving young people under the age of 18 are instead dealt with by the youth court. This is a section of the magistrates' court, often located in the same building.
You would have to train for and gain experience in an adult magistrates’ court before specifically training to work in the youth court. Training would cover:
- administering justice
- deciding on questions of law, practice and procedure
- sentencing young people who have offended in line with legislation and the Human Rights Act, alongside the welfare of the child.
Magistrates usually sit as a panel of three with one acting as the chair with responsibility for addressing the court.
Magistrates can be appointed from the age of 18 and retire at 70. However, the Lord Chancellor will not generally appoint anyone over the age of 65.
Magistrates must sit for a minimum of 26 half days each year, which is the equivalent of just over one day per month. Your employer is legally obliged to give you reasonable time off to complete magistrates’ duties. Although employers don’t have to pay employees on magistrate duty, many do so in recognition of the important contribution magistrates make.
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