Complaints about a magistrate or tribunal member
Complaints about magistrates should be made to the local Advisory Committee. Complaints about tribunal judges should be made to the relevant Tribunal President or Regional Chairman. A small number of tribunals do not have a President; in these cases the complaint may be made to OJC. If a complaint is sent to OJC in error we will send it on to the relevant Advisory Committee or Tribunal President.
Complaints about magistrates
If your complaint is about a magistrate's personal conduct you should send a written complaint to the local Advisory Committee. Contact details for all Advisory Committees can be obtained via DirectGov. Alternatively you can consult the magistrates’ court or telephone directory for details.
Advisory Committees are governed by the Complaints (Magistrates) Rules 2008 in considering the validity of the complaint. If the Advisory Committee decides that the complaint requires further action they will ask the magistrate for his or her comments. They may appoint a Conduct Investigation Panel to investigate your complaint and ask you, or others who may have witnessed the incident, for further evidence. If the Advisory Committee believes that there may be a case for formal disciplinary action, they will refer the case to the OJC. The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice will then consider the evidence and decide what action, if any, should be taken.
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Magistrate Complaints Handling Flowchart
Complaints about tribunal members
If you wish to complain about a tribunal judge or tribunal member you should contact the relevant tribunal office who will tell you whether your complaint should be sent to the Regional Chairman, Tribunal President or, if there is no Chairman or President, to the OJC.
Your complaint will be dealt with in accordance with the Judicial Complaints (Tribunals) Rules 2008 and Judicial Complaints (Tribunals) (No2) Rules 2008 . Copies of both documents are available on the OJC website. The Chairman or President will investigate the complaint, and if they believe that there may be a case for formal disciplinary action, they will refer the case to the OJC. The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice will then consider the evidence and decide what action, if any, should be taken.
Tribunal Complaints Handling Flowchart