Guidance

Judicial conduct remit and information about complaints

Updated 30 March 2023

Applies to England and Wales

This page tells you what the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman (JACO) can do, so you can decide whether to and how to make a complaint.

Please read this page alongside the leaflet: How to complain about the judicial conduct investigations process.

What the JACO can do

What the JACO can do is set out in sections 110-114 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

The JACO cannot look at complaints about a judicial office holder’s personal conduct

The JACO is not a route of appeal if you are unhappy with the decision of an investigating body (the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO), a Tribunal President or a Magistrate’s Advisory Committee). The JACO cannot say whether a Judicial Office Holder’s actions amount to misconduct and they cannot comment on matters before Courts and Tribunals.

The JACO can look at complaints about investigating bodies

The JACO can only look at the way they have handled complaints about a judicial office holder’s personal conduct (we call this the JACO’s “judicial conduct remit”).

The JACO can look at whether the investigating bodies made significant mistakes in the handling of your complaint (we call this ‘maladministration’). To help make this decision, the JACO looks at whether the investigating body followed certain rules (we call these the ‘prescribed procedures’) which are outlined below.

The Act says that the JACO can only look at complaints made by:

• people who have made a complaint to an Investigating Body alleging personal misconduct by a Judicial Office Holder, or
• a Judicial Office Holder or Judicial Office Holders (or former Judicial Office Holders) whose actions have been considered under the prescribed procedures

What an Investigating Body can and should do

What an Investigating Body can and should do is set out in the The Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations 2014.

An Investigating Body:

• cannot look at complaints about a judicial office holder’s decision or the way they managed a case
• can look at complaints about a judicial office holder’s personal conduct

The JCIO’s website includes guidance on the distinction between judicial decisions and judicial case management on the one hand and personal conduct on the other.

There are 3 types of Investigating Bodies and each is required to follow the regulations and specific rules when it looks at a complaint about the personal misconduct of a judicial office holder.

The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO)

The JCIO can initially look at complaints about the personal conduct of members of the Courts Judiciary, Coroners and some other Judicial Office Holders. When it looks at a complaint, it needs to follow the Judicial Conduct (Judicial and other office holders) Rules 2014. Further information about how the JCIO understands these rules can be found in the Supplementary Guidance and on its website.

Tribunal Presidents

A Tribunal President can initially look at complaints about the personal conduct of members of their Tribunal (they may delegate this responsibility to Investigating Judicial Office Holders). When they look at a complaint, they need to follow the Judicial Conduct (Tribunals) Rules 2014. Further information about how Tribunal Presidents should interpret these rules can be found in the Supplementary Guidance and on the JCIO’s website.

Advisory Committees

An Advisory Committee can initially look at complaints about the personal conduct of Magistrates. When it looks at a complaint, it needs to follow the Judicial Conduct (Magistrates) Rules 2014. Further information about how Advisory Committees should interpret these rules can be found in the Supplementary Guidance and on the JCIO’s website.

The rules say what type of complaint an Investigating Body cannot look at. They say that Investigating Bodies must reject complaints that:

• do not contain an allegation of personal misconduct, or
• are made more than 3 months after the latest matter or event complained of (unless they decide that there are exceptional circumstances for doing so)

If a complaint is accepted, the rules say that Investigating Bodies must look at complaints, after making proportionate enquiries to find out what happened, to decide whether there are issues in a Judicial Office Holder’s personal conduct that might warrant a disciplinary sanction - ranging from formal advice to removal from Office. The rules say that Investigating Bodies must dismiss complaints which fall into a number of categories, including that they are:

• about a judicial office holder’s decision or the way they managed a case and which does not raise a question of misconduct
• not done or caused to be done by a Judicial Office Holder, or
• even if true, would not require any disciplinary action to be taken

If it looks like a disciplinary sanction may be necessary, the rules say they have to pass the case for further consideration as disciplinary sanctions can only be imposed by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice (or Lord Chief Justice’s Designated Judge).

How the JACO decides whether to make a finding of maladministration

As indicated above, the JACO looks at whether an Investigating Body has followed the rules to help him decide if there has been a mistake in the handling of a complaint. There are also other forms of maladministration. It is not possible to provide a full definition as it covers many things and depends on the circumstances of each case.

Examples of maladministration might be an Investigating Body:

• missing a part of your complaint
• not looking at relevant information when reaching its decision
• significantly delaying answering your complaint
• not keeping you informed about the progress of your complaint
• not giving you the opportunity to explain why you did not make your complaint in time

What the JACO can do if they make a finding of maladministration

One of the things that the JACO can do, if it is clear that an Investigating Body made mistakes, acted unfairly, or didn’t follow the prescribed procedures and that this makes its decision on your complaint unreliable, is to recommend that the Investigating Body look at your complaint again. This might impact the Judicial Office Holder who you complained about if a previously rejected or dismissed concern about their conduct is reopened. It would not impact on matters being looked at by the Courts or Tribunals.

When to submit a complaint to the JACO

The JACO does not generally look at complaints about how an Investigating Body has handled a complaint until the Investigating Body has completed its investigation.

The Act says that you must complain to the JACO within 28 days of being notified by an Investigating Body of its decision on your complaint. The Act allows the JACO to accept complaints made outside of that time frame if it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so. The JACO Office may ask you for further information to help the JACO decide this.

How to submit a complaint to the JACO

If you want to complain to JACO there are forms on this office’s website to help you do this. You do not need to use the forms if the necessary information (outlined below) is provided in a letter or email.

In your complaint you need to:

• State why you believe that the Investigating Body failed to follow an appropriate process, bearing in mind information about the prescribed procedures provided above and on the JCIO’s website. You must not simply repeat your concerns about the case which led you to complain to the Investigating Body or issues of alleged misconduct on the Judicial Office Holder’s part.
• Provide permission for the JACO Office to show your complaint to the relevant Investigating Body and for the Investigating Body to give the JACO Office its papers relating to your complaint to it (investigations cannot proceed if this “permission to disclose” is not provided).
• If more than 28 days have passed since you were notified of the outcome of your complaint to an Investigating Body, the reasons why it would be reasonable, in all the circumstances, to accept the complaint.

It is also helpful if you provide a copy of the letter notifying you of the final decision by the Investigating Body that you wish to complain about.

You can find further information on the JACO website.