Judging

Abstract This book is about the work of judging, what judges actually do. Its concern is the reality of everyday judging in civil law matters, occurring from senior courts to those dealing with smaller claims. Part I of the book examines the three fundamental values of judging—independence, impartiality, and integrity—and draws out the implications of these for everyday work. In the course of the discussion a range of matters is considered, including judicial guidance and codes of practice, structural protections for judges, and the behavioural rules for judges both in and away from court. Part II of the book turns to the practice of judging—its legal and policy framework, judgecraft, and judicial decision-making. Matters covered include judicial appointments, work conditions, fact-finding, litigants in person, ex tempore decisions, and what is called practical judging in the interpretation of legislation and precedent. The book explains that the work of the judge extends beyond actual decision-making to cover a range of other matters such as managing cases and, if a leadership judge, managing other judges and judicial systems. It also describes how the caseload pressure on judges has led to routinization, intuitive decision-making, and the reduction of oral hearings with decisions being made ‘on the papers’. It is not a jurisprudential account of what judges do or should do, nor is it concerned with theorizing about judicial decisions. Rather the book draws on judicial experiences and the social sciences to explore the actual work of judges.