Two-thirds of the 1,292 complaints received by the JCIO in the reporting year 2019-2020 related to judicial decisions and therefore were not investigated.
Some 325 of the complaints related to inappropriate behaviour and comments, 33 were about judicial delay, 26 involved conflict of interest and 11 concerned misuse of judicial status.
However, 12 magistrates and two other judicial office holders were removed from office. Six reprimands were given as well as 14 formal warnings and eight issues of formal advice.
Both the number of complaints received and the sanctions issued by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice were less than in the previous year, 1,672 and 55, respectively.
Amy Shaw, head of the JCIO, said in her introduction to the report that she was proud of her team’s efforts during the pandemic, which began towards the end of the reporting year.
‘I am glad to report that further development of our digital case management system(CMS) has enabled us to achieve our goal to become a ‘digital by default’ office,’ she said.
‘This proved to be a crucial step for the JCIO, enabling secure and effective remote working during the national lockdown. The improved CMS also enables managers to monitor and analyse the team’s performance better than ever before.’
