If after reading the guidance on this page, you are still unsure about the details we need about your complaint, please contact us on 020 7073 4719 or at general.enquiries@judicialconduct.gov.uk.
1. Details we need to consider your complaint:
To make a complaint, use our online portal - https://www.complaints.judicialconduct.gov.uk/. If you are unable to use the portal, you can send your complaint by post to Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, 81 – 82 Queens Building, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand London, WC2A 2LL.
You must provide these details with your complaint, or your complaint will not be considered:
- Your name & address. (If you are using our complaints portal, an email address is sufficient. If you are complaining by post, we need your postal address.)
- Name of the judicial office holder you want to complain about. If you are not sure of the name of the judicial office holder you wish to complain about, you may contact us to find this information before submitting your complaint.)
- The date(s) when the matter you want to complain about happened.
- A description of the alleged misconduct (see below).
The Rules state that we must dismiss complaints which are “inadequately particularised” - (Judicial Conduct (Judicial and other office holders) Rules 2014, Rule 21(a); Judicial Conduct (Tribunals) Rules 2014, Rule 34(a); Judicial Conduct (Magistrates) Rules 2014, Rule 32(a)). This means complaints which do not have enough details about the alleged misconduct will be dismissed.
To make sure you give us the details we need to make a proper assessment of your complaint, please follow the guidance below.
The table below provides further details of the kind of details we need about the alleged misconduct to assess your complaint.
| Type of complaint | Details We Need |
|---|---|
| Something a judge said e.g., rudeness, and/or something about a judge’s tone or manner e.g., shouting. (This may include complaints of bullying or harassment) | • The words the judge used that you want to complain about • If applicable, a description of the judge’s tone or manner • Where it happened • If your complaint is about something that happened in a hearing, we also need you to tell us the name of the court and the time(s) when the alleged misconduct happened (see guidance on timings below, at section 3) |
| A physical act e.g., a physical display of anger (This may include complaints of bullying or harassment) | • A description of what the judge did • Where it happened • If your complaint is about something that happened in a hearing, we also need you to tell us the name of the court and the time(s) when the alleged misconduct happened (see guidance on timings below, at section 3) |
| Misusing judicial status, for example to try to influence another person or organisation for personal gain | • A description of what the judge did • How and when you became aware of it |
| Misusing social media, for example posting offensive content, or content which could damage public confidence in judicial impartiality such as remarks about government policy | • A link to, or screenshot of, the content you want to complain about • The date when you first saw the content |
| Failure to report personal involvement in civil, criminal, or professional disciplinary proceedings | • The type of proceedings you believe the judge involved is/has been involved in • How and when you became aware of the matter |
| Delay in issuing a judgment or order (usually considered to be a delay, without a reasonable excuse, of more than three months) | • The names of the parties in the case • The name of the court dealing with the case • If applicable, the date of the hearing |
3. Complaints about misconduct in a hearing
If you want to complain about something that happened during a hearing, you must also provide us with information about when during the hearing it took place. As well as the relevant details in the table above, we need you to tell us, in as much detail as possible:
• If you cannot remember the exact time, give us your best estimate. For example:
- “The judge shouted at me ‘Mr Smith be quiet’ at approximately 10.00 a.m.”
- “The judge shouted at me ‘Mr Smith be quiet’ approximately one hour after the hearing started.”
- “The judge shouted at me ‘Mr Smith be quiet’ approximately half an hour before the lunchbreak on the second day of the hearing.”
- “The judge shouted at me ‘Mr Smith be quiet’ approximately 45 minutes after I started giving my evidence.”
• If you believe that there are exceptional reasons why you are unable to provide time estimate for the allegations, for example due to a disability, please provide this information along with your complaint. We will take this information into account when assessing your complaint.
Our caseworkers will usually listen to a one-hour ‘window’ of time based on the estimate you have given, for example, if you stated: “the judge shouted at me ‘Mr Smith be quiet’ at approximately 10.00 am, the caseworker would listen to the recording from 9.30-10.30 am or if, for example, you stated: “the judge shouted at me ‘Mr Smith’ approximately half an hour before the lunch break, the caseworker would listen to the recording for one hour up until the lunchbreak.
It is, therefore, important to be as accurate as possible when you give us this information. We will consider accepting a complaint without this information only if there are exceptional reasons as to what you cannot do so.
4. Information from other people/third parties
If you believe that there is anyone else who might have evidence relevant to, your complaint e.g., anyone who was present when the alleged misconduct took place, please let us know in your complaint. This is not essential but may help us to assess your complaint.