Court dress

Depending on the country and jurisdiction's traditions, members of the court (judges, magistrates, and so on) may wear formal robes, gowns, collars, or wigs.

On ceremonial occasions they wear a robe of black damask embellished with gold with the badge of the Supreme Court embroidered at the yoke.

Further, in any court formal dress may be dispensed with at the option of the judge, e.g. in very hot weather, and invariably where it may intimidate children, e.g., in the Family Division and at the trials of minors.

There is strong identification of the Bar of England and Wales in the public's mind and its formal dress nationally and internationally.For the most part, the changes only affect what is worn by judges in civil courts, who now wear a simplified robe and no wig.

The changes have been reflected in the dress allowances made to judges (while the one-off cost of supplying the new civil gown was estimated at about £200,000, annual savings in the region of £300,000 were projected).

All male advocates wear a white stiff wing collar with bands (two strips of cotton about 5 by 1 in (127 by 25 mm) hanging down the front of the neck).

[6] On special ceremonial occasions (such as the opening of the legal year) more elaborate forms of traditional dress are worn, by civil and criminal judges alike.

On ceremonial occasions he wears the scarlet and fur hood and mantle, and in addition a gold chain of office in the form of a collar of esses.

On ceremonial occasions, all High Court judges wear the traditional full-bottom wig and the furred scarlet robe (as described below, with scarf, girdle, and tippet), with a matching hood and mantle in addition.

Prior to introduction of the violet robe, Circuit judges usually wore a plain black gown and short wig; this older tradition has been retained by the Central Criminal Court.

[8] On ceremonial occasions, circuit judges in addition to their violet robes wear a matching hood, long wig, black breeches, stockings and buckled shoes, and a lace jabot instead of bands.

Judges and judicial registrars of the Family Court of Australia wear a black silk gown, a bar jacket with either bands or a jabot and a bench wig.

When sitting in criminal proceedings, judges wear scarlet robes with grey silk facings, bands or a jabot and a bench wig.

When sitting in appeal or in civil proceedings, judges and masters wear a black silk gown, a bar jacket with either bands or a jabot and a bench wig.

In April 2016, the Chief Justice of Victoria Marilyn Warren, issued an edict that Victorian Supreme Court judges will no longer wear wigs from May 1 that year.

Wigs were worn in early courts but phased out beginning in the mid-19th century with last holdouts British Columbia (1905) and Newfoundland and Labrador (upon joining Canada in 1949)).

After independence, in Pakistan, the courts have continued to uphold the pre-independence (British-Raj traditions) of lawyers wearing white shirt and black coat, trouser and tie.

However, in the 1980s, judges modified their dress to do away with wigs and allowed (optional) the usage of a black sherwani, a long traditional Pakistani coat worn over a white shalwar and qamiz (trousers and shirt).

German court dress consists of a plain robe roughly similar to the ones worn in the United States, normally without any kind of scarf or separate collar.

The design of the robe, which was established in Prussia in 1713 and has remained virtually unchanged ever since, allows the respective functions to be distinguished by the fabric trim on the collar and sleeves.

The constitutional court judges wear scarlet satin robes with a very high neckline, and caps, combined with a white pleated jabot.

The judges of the new superior courts, including the Chief Justice and President, adopted for all occasions—ceremonial or otherwise—the ordinary working judicial dress of the austere type previously worn by members of the old Court of Appeal, that is, as Order 119 rule 2 of the Rules of the Superior Courts, 1986 originally read:A black coat and vest of uniform make and material of the kind worn by Senior Counsel, a black Irish poplin gown of uniform make and material, white bands and a wig of the kind known as the small or bobbed wig.

Judges and counsel are forbidden to wear wigs and gowns in proceedings in the District, Circuit and High Courts in respect of inter alia the following Acts:

It is arguable that the Oireachtas intended the ban on "wigs and gowns" should be read liberally to mean that judges and barristers should appear in ordinary suits in these cases.

[23] According to the Law Reform Commission, the purpose of not wearing wigs and gowns is to ensure that such proceedings are "as informal as is practicable and consistent with the administration of justice."

Judges and prosecutors wear red, ermine-lined robes with golden striped hats on solemn occasions such as the opening of the judicial year.

This is a symbolic act, as it is meant to convey the idea that the judge is merely the representative of Dutch or Belgian law, rather than an elevated individual with the power of sentencing people.

[citation needed] Different legal professions are distinguished by the colour of the jabot and hem of the collar and cuffs: Presiding judges also wear a chain of office (pol.

[30] The judges of the Delaware Superior Court continue to wear the red sashes or baldrics of their British predecessors, albeit now only on ceremonial occasions.

During the second-wave feminism movement in the 1970s, some judges forbade female attorneys to wear trousers when appearing in court, but pantsuits are now widely accepted.