District Judge Pre-application Seminars 2022

The Judiciary are holding a series of online seminars in late June to early July via Microsoft Teams for Deputy District Judges, Fee-Paid and Salaried Employment Judges, and Fee-Paid and Salaried Tribunal Judges interested in applying for a District Judge (DJ) appointment in England and Wales. The next DJ competition is expected to be in October. The seminars are organised by geographical regions – the Courts circuit system – where the vacancies are expected to arise. Judges who sit in the reserved tribunals in Scotland and those sitting in devolved tribunals in Scotland and Wales are eligible to apply provided they meet the statutory eligibility criteria.

The seminars will be taking place at via MS Teams at 5-6pm on:

Please click on the seminar to register

These seminars aim to help judges learn about the role of a salaried District Judge, be better prepared to make an application for salaried appointment, and to receive up to date guidance and advice on the Judicial Appointments Commission’s selection process.

You will hear from local leadership judges, serving District Judges (Civil and Family) from the relevant Circuit and a representative from the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). There will be an opportunity to ask questions of the panel. The seminars will be supported by Mrs Justice Theis and Mrs Justice Stacey.

Who should attend?

All judicial office-holders interested in applying for a DJ role can attend. This seminar is facilitated by Judicial HR and supports the Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2020-2025. Applications from under-represented groups are particularly welcome.

If you have any queries regarding the seminar or would like to post in advance a question to the panel, please email: JudicialHRDiversityEvents@judiciary.uk

We recommend you attend the seminar for the circuit area in which you would prefer to be based if appointed, but as these seminars will all be online you may attend whichever is more convenient for you and, potentially, you may attend more than one seminar (subject to numbers/online capacity).

Background information

District Judges are appointed by Her Majesty the Queen after a fair and open competition administered by the JAC.  The statutory qualification is a minimum of five years’ right of audience in any part of the Supreme Court, or all proceedings in county courts or magistrates’ courts. The forthcoming competition will only be open to those with previous judicial experience.

District Judges sit on a full-time or part-time salaried basis in the county courts and District Registries of the High Court on a wide spectrum of Civil and Family cases. Salaried part-time working (SPTW) may be available for some posts subject to it having no material adverse impact on the business needs of the courts or the services to users. SPTW options are a matter for discussion and agreement with the appropriate senior judiciary, following selection by the JAC