1 Judicial Pensionsand Retirement Act 1993, s 26. 2 Owen Bowcott, ‘Allow Judiciary to Work Until 75, SaysBritain’s Most Senior Judge’ (the Guardian, 2017) timeshighereducation.com/news/social-mobility-law-worse-1970s-says-cherie-blair>accessed 9 January 2018 1500 words The retirement age of judges should not be increased. Aspecific law has been put in place to enforce the rights of judges regardingretirement and pensions. The legal system has to limit people’s freedom to someextent, in this case the retirement age to 70. However, it does not do anyunnecessary harm. It would be unfair to raise retirement age to 75 and limitopportunities for younger generation, but mostly to make changes to legislationthat was specially enforced twenty-five years ago. Another way of solving the problem, which would takeless time and most likely be a long-term achievement is recruiting young peoplefrom different countries. Law is one of the most popular courses worldwide. Openingthe opportunity for young people who have completed required courses differentcountries, would be a benefit for the UK. This would minimise the recruitmentproblems in a shorter period and bring new ideas and view. Judges withdifferent backgrounds, experiences and education could also help the courts solveproblems differently. Recruitment problem due to lack of qualifiedcandidates in the UK is the biggest issue. A way of solving it instead ofraising the retirement age of judges to 75 could be a better support forstudents. Law is a life profession which requires a long way of education. There is a big problem, because law degree, bar and legal practice course’ feesare expensive and not many people can get much support, as a result not all ofthem decide to go this path. 8Improving the support from the government to students would increase a numberof potential judges. This could take some time to battle the recruitment issue,however it would be long-term achievement. Otherways of achieving the same outcome as raising age to 75Whereas, the lower retirement of judges in lowerlevels of courts, the better and wider opportunities for law students; higherpositions such as Supreme Court judges’ retirement age should stay the same.These roles require a long way of experience, therefore not many studentsdecide to go this long path and it would be difficult to fulfil thesepositions. A current legislation limiting the retirement age ofjudges to 70 7is important to the UK citizens, but especially law students. Young generationis the future of the country; therefore, it is essential to make sure there isenough work places and opportunities. Although, there are many different opinions and viewson a retirement age of judges, the most appropriate would be not to increaseit. Law has become one of the most popular courses, therefore young generationhas a better chance to progress to higher positions. If the retirement age was75, judges would hold their office longer by five years. In those five years,many young people’s paths would be blocked or the progress to get into these positions,would take a lot longer. The legislation on the retirement age is allowingyoung people to have open paths, as many courts provide more places for newjudges. Viewson retirement age issuesThe retirement age of UK workers is close to the ageof compulsory retirement of judges, which is 70. If judges’ age increased to75, it wouldn’t be fair for the rest of UK workers. Judges would seem to get abetter treatment by being allowed to work for a longer period than the rest ofcitizens. This could create problems and make people feel discriminated. Furthermore,the retirement age in the UK is 65 for men and 60 for women, however it isincreasing to 65. This isn’t a compulsory retirement age, as this was abolishedin 2018 by The Employment Equality (Repealof Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011. This is stating that workerscannot be forced to retire on the grounds of age. 6 Judges in the older age have been taught in the oldsystem of education. The legislations and legal system is changing, and newcourt cases come into force. “…The laws we have today bear very little to thoseof centuries ago. The laws we have in force at any particular time reflect ourthoughts and attitudes as a people at that time…” 5 By allowing judges toretire at the age of 70 instead of 75, it allows people with a newer educationsystem to take over the roles. It also allows them to present different ideasand solve issues in a modern way, as a benefit to the communities. It wouldalso benefit the future of laws, as these ideas could change the views oncertain legislations and cases.JudicialPensions and Retirement Act 1993 may be a fair legislation to people who holdthe opinion that retirement age of judges should not be raised to 75, due tomany different reasons. Retirementage should not be raised to 75On the other hand, a compulsory retirement rule leadto loosing good people with great experience. Older judges have more experiencedue to extended career and a better relationship in the community they work in.People are more comfortable with consistency and unchanging. Extending theretirement age by five years would be a good option for the society, as well asjudges. Judges in different positions such as Crown Court,High Court or Supreme Court are equally important. They attend hearings ofcases regarding most aspects of society. The statue stating the retirement ageof a judge at 70 is limiting the person to a date when they must vacate theoffice, might be an issue. The Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 4is declaring the exceptions of Judges who shall vacate at the age of 75, theseexceptions may be considered as discrimination by allowing a higher retirementage to Judges in the higher position. Allowing all judges to hold the officeuntil the age of 75 would seem fair. The High and Crown Court are facing shortages ofsuitably qualified candidates, as vacancies for these roles are being leftunfilled. Lord Justice Burnett, the vice-chair of the Judicial AppointmentsCommission “told peers that in the most recent search for 55 new crown courtjudges, only 44 were selected for appointment”. 3The shortages in such important occupation is a serious issue, as thecommunities need judges in different sectors. The idea of increasing retirementage to 75 would be suitable in making sure there is enough judges in theCourts, decreasing the problem of recruitment. Some people may hold the opinion that the retirementage for judges should be increased to 75, such as Lord Neuberger who thinks theincrease of age limit would help with the problems in recruiting in Crown Courtas well as High Court. He has also stated that “…It’s a bit odd that it’s beingreduced (from the previous age of 75) at the time retirement ages elsewhere aregoing up”. 2 Retirementage should be raised to 75The first legislation that came into force for HighCourt and above relating retirement age was Judicial Pensions Act 1959, whichset the mandatory retirement age of 75. Before this, judges could continue inthe office as long as they wished. The most recent statue came into force,Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993, with the general judicial retirementage of 70. 1Only a number of judges such as ten of current justices in the Supreme Courtare subject to the higher retirement age. Some people may agree with the abovestatement of raising the retirement age to 75 for all judges in the UK, howeverothers may be against it due to many reasons. Judges carry out many functions relating the legalsector, with the main tasks to settle legal dispute and affirm the rule of law,which are very important to the community. A lot of criminal cases and almost allcivil cases are heard by judges without a jury, they decide if the evidence iscredible and whether the witness is telling the truth. Being in such position,also requires laws relating judges to make sure they’re being treated fairly. Lawon retirement age of judges”Theretirement age for judges should be raised to 75″ 500 words Timetaken: This research report took eight hours to complete.Lexi’s Library has also stated the first legislation wasestablished on 17th December 1959. Chapter 9, Section 2 (1) wassubstituted with Section 26 of Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993,changing the age of 75 to 70. It is no longer in force. Updating:Halsbury’sis it in force stated the whole act is in force since 31 March 1995. Parliamentpublications and records data regarding retirement age is at https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201012/ldselect/ldconst/272/27210.htm, paragraph 190,197Thefirst legislation regarding retirement age of judges was Judicial Pensions Act1959, Chapter 9, Section 2 (1). Theprimary legislation on retirement age of judges is Judicial Pensions andRetirement Act 1993, Part 2, Section 26.Methology:There is a primary legislation regarding a retirementage of judges in the UK, which is Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1998. Inthis Act, it is stated that a judge “shall vacate the office on the day onwhich he attains the age of 70…”, however, only if first appointed to ajudicial office after the 31st March 1995 or at age 75 otherwise.Judges appointed before 1995 could retire at the age of 75, as this was set inthe Judicial Pensions Act 1959, however not many remain active. It is alsoforbidden to hold any judicial post after age 75 whatsoever, except LordChancellor. Applyingthe law to the facts: This would ensure the jobs are open to younger peoplein the lower level of judiciary, making sure the highest-level stays open forthe most talented and experienced who have not followed traditional paths. Moreexperienced higher levels of judiciary should work until the age of 75, as experienceand judicial quality is important in the development of law. An example is severalserving judges remaining subject to the higher retirement age such as currentjustices of Supreme Court. They decide on the country’s most significant cases,whereas judges in Crown Court or High Court deal with less complex issues. Advice:To ensure the community in the UK is having the mostexperienced judges, they would have to work until the age of 75, as the lawstrictly forbids judges to hold judiciary office any longer. However, thatwould be unfair as the judicial capacity would decline with age and decreasethe new opportunities for younger judges who would inject new ideas to thecourts. As a result, career paths would be blocked. Theconclusion:Judges are an important part of the society as theymake impartial decisions to reach justice. To have the most experienced judgesworking in the UK courts and ease the problem of judicial recruitment in the UK,the retirement age should be raised to 75 for all judges in the UK, however asthe data below shows most judges’ mandatory retirement age is 70.Thesummary of the legal issue: Matter: Thebenefits and drawbacks of raising retirement age of judges to 75.Date:11th January 2018Best services for writing your paper according to Trustpilot
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