Retirement age for judges will be raised to 75 so more can stay on the bench to help plug staffing hole amid recruitment crisis in the judiciary
- The mandatory retirement age for judges in England and Wales set to rise to 75
- Ministry of Justice hopes the rule change will help combat recruitment issues
- Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the MoJ will keep judges’ experience
The Ministry of Justice is set to raise the retirement age for judges in England and Wales to 75 to combat recruitment issues and mounting legal backlogs.
At present, the mandatory retirement age for judges in the two countries is 70, but this would see more than 6,500 magistrates in their 60s leave their roles in the next decade.
The rule change has also been prompted by the number of people continuing their careers into their 70s doubling over the last decade, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland told the paper: ‘Raising the retirement age will mean we can retain their invaluable experience, while ensuring that judicial roles are open to a wider pool of talent.
The Ministry of Justice is set to raise the retirement age for judges in England and Wales to 75 to combat recruitment issues and mounting legal backlogs, with Justice Secretary Robert Buckland (pictured) saying the rule change will allow the MoJ to keep hold of the judges’ experience
‘It will also make sure our courts and tribunals can continue to benefit from a world-class judiciary, as we emerge from the pandemic and beyond.’
The change to the retirement age will be the first seen for judges in 27 years and will help limit any increases to the 1,000 vacancies already needing filling across England and Wales.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a major backlog in cases, with 54,000 needing to be processed in the crown court at the peak of delays.
The extra five years added to judges’ retirement age would help retain more than 2,100 magistrates, the Ministry of Justice claims.
The Judicial Pensions Act 1959 originally set the retirement age for judges at 75, but the Judicial pensions and Retirement Act 1993 reduced this limit to 70.
Any magistrates aged above 70 who retired before the increase comes into force will be able to return to the bench if needed to.
At present, the mandatory retirement age for judges in the two countries is 70, but this would see more than 6,500 magistrates in their 60s leave their roles in the next decade. The rule change has also been prompted by the number of people continuing their careers into their 70s doubling over the last decade (file image of the Scales of Justice on top of the Old Bailey, London)
It comes as judges are set to be handed increased sentencing powers for crimes involving the murders of children.
From next week The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will allow judges to impose whole life sentences for the crimes – as well as allowing them to hand out extended punishments for sexual and violent offenders.
Until now judges could only impose whole life sentences, where criminals can expect to die in prison, on crimes where there is a sadistic or sexual motive.
But from next week new powers mean they can be applied to anyone who murders a child, including offenders aged 18 to 20 for the first time, the Times reports.
About 70 criminals in the UK are currently serving whole life sentences.
Among those are notorious killers Rose West, Suffolk Strangler Steve Wright, Levi Bellfield, Dale Cregan and Lee Rigby killer Michael Adebolajo.
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