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00937: Deputy District Judge (Civil)

The application form together with the information pack, job description, qualities and abilities and other supporting documents are all now on our website.

Salary: £488 per day
Number of vacancies: 104 (TBC)
Location: Across England and Wales
Closing date: noon 24 November 2014

The role
The activities of a Deputy District Judge (Civil) are conducted in county courts and district registries of the High Court. They deal with a wide spectrum of civil and family law cases, such as claims for damages and injunctions, possession proceedings against mortgage borrowers and property tenants, divorces, child proceedings, domestic violence injunctions and insolvency proceedings.

All new Deputy District Judges must attend a residential induction course (five days) and sit in for five days with experienced District Judges before they are authorised to sit. This is organised by the judiciary through the Judicial College.

The person
These posts are open to barristers, Chartered Legal Executives and solicitors in England and Wales with five years post qualification experience (PQE).

In addition to the statutory eligibility criteria, the Lord Chancellor also requires candidates to satisfy additional criteria. For posts in Wales candidates need to have an understanding, or the ability to acquire the understanding, of the administration of justice in Wales, including legislation applicable to Wales and Welsh devolution arrangements.

At interview, candidates for posts in Wales will be asked questions to allow them to demonstrate their understanding of the administration of justice in Wales.

Only in exceptional cases will a candidate who fails to demonstrate the additional selection criteria be recommended for appointment.

There are three case studies of successful Deputy District Judges (Civil) candidates on the JAC website: Ian Ashley Smith, a CILEx Fellow, Juliette Coffey a GLS lawyer and Judith Ellery, a solicitor.