Judge (Rechter)
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A judge is a magistrate, who delivers justice after careful consideration, taking into account the law, existing case law, legal doctrine and custom. By "custom" one means customary law. Customary law is a certain custom, which can lead to certain jurisprudence. Common law is becoming less and less common nowadays, because nowadays we are dealing more and more with written laws and no longer with habit. A judge therefore administers justice and will ensure that the law is interpreted and followed correctly. A judge is a magistrate, which relates to an elected or appointed public administrative office. Within the magistrate we know the standing magistracy, the sitting magistracy and the writing magistracy. Judges belong to the sitting magistracy and prosecutors to the standing magistracy. The registrar belongs to the writing magistracy. A judge works in the criminal law, civil law or administrative law sector. In addition, a judge can work within cantonal law, which relates to various areas of law, namely civil law and criminal law. In short, the work of a judge can best be described as making decisions in cases when the parties request it. A judge will only look at the facts, the law and the circumstances in order to be able to make a ruling. In general, judges must be regarded as specialists or generalists. The fact that judges can be regarded as generalists is because judges regularly change jurisdiction. The name judge should also be seen as a fairly general one, because judges can work in different jurisdictions. It is true that all judges are responsible for administering justice. All judges are obliged to give an opinion on a concrete dispute in compliance with the law and existing case law.
A judge is therefore a magistrate, who adjudicates if there is a concrete dispute between the parties. Within the Netherlands there are several areas of law, namely ;administrative law, civil law and criminal law. Cantonal law is not officially a jurisdiction, but it is a special form of jurisprudence and occurs in all courts. Subdistrict court judges are judges who work in civil law and criminal law. Because subdistrict court law relates to different court areas, most subdistrict court judges are experienced judges, who have a lot of knowledge. For example, a subdistrict court judge may have to deal with rental cases, employment cases, consumer purchases, consumer credit cases and lighter criminal cases, such as wild urination or a traffic violation.
WORKING AS A JUDGE
As a judge, you can therefore work within different jurisdictions and it happens that judges change jurisdiction. Judges generally do this to broaden their knowledge and to stay sharp as judges. Independence is an absolute must as a judge and that is why judges within the Netherlands are appointed for life, so that judges do not have to be afraid of their jobs when they make a ruling, which may not please some people. A judge can be dismissed, but only in very special cases. The so-called objection (conflict of interest), which has become increasingly well-known in recent years, does not mean that a judge is dismissed, but it can ensure that a judge is replaced by another judge. This is done to avoid any appearance of partiality. In the Netherlands, judges are appointed for life by the head of state. The term "for life" in practice comes down to the respectable age of seventy years and is therefore not actually lifelong.
WHO DOES A JUDGE HAVE TO DEAL WITH?
A judge may have to deal with different persons and representatives in his or her work. Think, for example, of criminal lawyers who assist suspects, of public prosecutors, who prosecute people or companies, of court clerks, who help the judges with his or her work, of experts who are called in and of various civil servants, such as tax inspectors, compulsory education officers, police officers, social investigators, probation workers and enforcement lawyers. Which people and experts a judge has to deal with can differ per court area. Nowadays it is also increasingly common for the judges to first try to bring parties together through mediation. Judges do this because it is important that the parties first do everything they can to resolve a conflict themselves. If the parties come to an agreement, there is usually no need for a lawsuit, which is also beneficial for the workload of judges. In mediation, the parties resolve their own conflict without a judge having to rule. Mediation can be useful for both parties, because in that case a judge does not have to make a hard ruling.
DIFFERENT JUDGES
Different judges are the ordinary judge, the police judge, the children's judge, the subdistrict court judge, the deputy judge and the examining magistrate. These different judges deal with different areas of law, which may also depend on the gravity of possible offences and/or offences. For example, a police judge is an ordinary judge, who will only deal with criminal cases for which no more than a year of unconditional imprisonment can be imposed. In addition, we know the special arbitration cases in which a judge is involved. In arbitration cases, a judge must be seen as a private individual, who settles a dispute between the parties. Arbitration is only possible if all parties have concluded an agreement. The ruling will be made by the arbitration court and is binding on all parties. If someone does not comply with the ruling, one must go to an ordinary judge to enforce this.
APPEAL
If someone disagrees with a judge's ruling, the person can appeal. The appeal will usually not take place in an ordinary court, but at the Court of Appeal. The judges who work for the Court of Appeal are not called judges, but Councillors. Female judges are also called counsellors within a Court of Appeal. Appealing after a ruling often causes confusion, because quite a lot of people think that Councillors will easily overturn the ruling or, for example, relax the sentence imposed.
It is a misunderstanding to think that the Court of Appeal just overturns judgments. Councillors within the Court of Appeal generally only look at whether the correct procedures have been used, whether the law has been applied correctly and whether sufficient account has been taken of existing case law. It is not the case that Councillors explicitly look at the level of punishment. If it turns out that a lower court has forgotten certain things or has misinterpreted the law, another ruling may follow. Think, for example, of lowering a sentence or mandating that a case must be reviewed.
WHAT DOES A JUDGE DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME A JUDGE
Anyone who aspires to a career as a judge will have to go through the training "judge in training (rio)". This programme is only accessible if you have a university degree in law. In addition, it is important that you have sufficient work experience, because otherwise you will not be admitted to the programme. In general, you will need to have at least five years of work experience before you will be admitted to the programme. Of these five years, you must have worked outside the judicial organization for at least two years. The duration of training as a judge in training (rio) can vary per candidate judge, but will generally take between fifteen months and three years.
COMPANIES WHERE A JUDGE MAY WORK
A judge does not work for companies, but works for the judiciary. The judiciary can relate to a court, the court of appeal, the Supreme Court or relates to special colleges. Special colleges deal, for example, with cases that have to do with civil service law or cases that have to do with economic administrative law. Think of a supervisory authority that has imposed a fine on a farmer for abusing agricultural subsidies or a regulator that has imposed a fine on a telecom provider or healthcare provider.
COMPETENCES JUDGE
The important competence of a judge is independence, because that is what the judiciary revolves around. In addition, a judge must have a lot of experience and legal knowledge. Because a judge has to deal with different citizens, lawyers and colleagues, a judge must have good communication skills. A good analytical ability should also not be lacking as a judge, so that you know how to distinguish the side issues from the main cases. Another important competence is motivation, because the profession judge can ask a lot of people. Generally important words are listening, reading, checking, vigilance, truth-finding, decisiveness, decisiveness, insight, cooperation, dominance, planning, organizing and further training. Finally, it is also important to mention conflict management and stress resistance. Of course, a judge also has to deal with fixed professional competences.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS A JUDGE
The labour market perspective of a judge is good, but the position of judge will not be for everyone, because not everyone is admitted to the programme. In general, you must have special competencies and talent if you want to be admitted to the programme. The career opportunities of a judge must be seen in being allowed to conduct important cases, acting as a team leader or working for a higher court. Of course, a judge can also obtain a PhD as a scientist.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY JUDGE
The employment conditions of judges are largely regulated in the Judicial Officials Legal Status Act (Wrra) and the Decree on the Legal Position of Judicial Officials (Brra), based on that Act. The ;salary already judge can vary a lot, but will roughly be between 4000 and 8000 gross per month, depending on age, education and further specific responsibilities. A judge in training usually has a starting salary between 3000 and 4000 gross per month.
The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.
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