The Essex and Cambridgeshire Advisory Committee is seeking to appoint new Justices to the Cambridgeshire, North Essex and South Essex Benches.
Around 46 new Justices are sought to sit in the adult criminal court in Cambridgeshire. Anyone appointed will be expected to sit at courthouses in Cambridge, Huntingdon and Peterborough.
A total of 70 new Justices are sought to sit in the adult criminal court in Essex. Anyone appointed will be expected to sit at courthouses in Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester and Southend.
Further details about the application and selection process can be found on our Becoming a Magistrate page.
The application form and associated guidance notes can be downloaded from the Gov.uk website.
For Cambridgeshire applicants, the Advisory Committee invites applications via the new online system. This will not go "live" until 19th July 2021, when applications open for the 2021/22 intake. Cambridgeshire applications will close on 18th September 2021.
For Essex applicants, the Advisory Committee would prefer that the completed application form is returned by email to: South-East-Advisory@justice.gov.uk. Essex applications are being accepted on a rolling basis.
Applicants are reminded of the need to observe at least two Magistrates' Court sessions, involving a bench of Magistrates, prior to the submission of their application. A minimum of three observations is preferred.
Those shortlisted and invited for interview will be expected to demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of social issues in the local area in which they wish to serve, in particular the causes and effects of crime. This would typically be gained by living or working there.
It is only fair to warn applicants that the process is quite time-consuming - between 12 and 18 months from application to appointment seems to be about the norm at the moment. Sometimes there are several weeks between the different stages and communication during that time can be patchy to say the least!
Best of luck to those applying.
2 comments:
Only observation on this is that the requirement to visit a court twice only applies to those not applying directly to the Family Court, in which case you need to read the guidance and research CAFCASS etc. Family Court is usually held privately, so members of the public are not admitted.
Indeed, but our article is about adult bench recruitment.
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