In ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judicial and executive powers.
In other parts of the world, such as China, magistrate is a word applied to a person responsible for administration over a particular geographic area.
Today, in some jurisdictions, a magistrate is a judicial officer who hears cases in a lower court, and typically deals with more minor or preliminary matters.
In other jurisdictions (e.g., England and Wales), magistrates are typically trained volunteers appointed to deal with criminal and civil matters in their local areas.
Analogous offices in the local authorities, such as municipium, were subordinate only to the legislature of which they generally were members, ex officio, often a combination of judicial and executive power, constituting one jurisdiction.
The Praetor (the office was later divided into two, the Urban and Peregrine Praetors) was the highest judge in matters of private law between individual citizens, while the Curule Aediles, who supervised public works in the city, exercised a limited civil jurisdiction in relation to the market.
Under the civil law systems of European countries, such as Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands, magistrat (French), magistrato (Italian) and magistraat (Dutch) are generic terms which comprise both prosecutors and judges, distinguished as the 'standing' versus 'sitting' magistrature, respectively.
In France and Italy, and several other European countries, examining magistrate judges have represented the victim and are part of overseeing investigations from the beginning of a case, in consultation with police and prosecutors.
In Finland, maistraatti (the Finnish-language cognate of "magistrate", officially translated as "local register office"[2]) is a state-appointed local administrative office whose responsibilities include keeping population information and public registers, acting as a public notary and conducting civil marriages.
[5] In practice, magistrates have a wide range of sentencing options, which include issuing fines, imposing community orders, or dealing with offences by means of a discharge.
The most serious cases (for example murder, rape, etc) are sent to the Crown Court, although magistrates' will often decide on issues such as bail and any preliminary matters.
They are selected by a local advisory committee and only recommended to the Lord Chancellor for appointment if they can demonstrate the six key qualities required of a judicial office holder, these are: (a) good character, (b) commitment and reliability, (c) social awareness, (d) sound judgement, (e) understanding and communication and (f) maturity and sound temperament.
[13] Additional training is given to justices choosing to sit in the Youth Court or those dealing with family matters.
Justices of the peace are unpaid appointees, but they may receive allowances to cover travelling expenses, subsistence and loss of earnings for those not paid by their employer while sitting as a magistrate, up to a maximum of £116.78 a day.
Unlike justices of the peace, district judges (magistrates' courts) usually sit alone, although still have the benefit of a legal adviser.
Questions have been raised by the Magistrates' Association as to the legal safeguards of a single district judge allowed to hear a case, decide the outcome, and pass sentence without reference to another party,[15] however the criminal procedure rules do require some cases to be heard by a district judge, such as those matters relating to extradition or where the contested issue is a disputed point of law.
[16] According to the official statistics for diversity of the judiciary in April 2021, 56% of sitting magistrates were women, 13% were Black, Asian and minority ethnic and 82% per aged above 50.
Stipendiary magistrates are, ex officio, justices of the peace, and when sitting in a JP court had the summary criminal jurisdiction and powers of a sheriff.
[19] Its first judicial officers were appointed in 2000; it first applications were filed on 23 June 2000 and the Court's first sittings were conducted on 3 July 2000 in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta and Townsville.
For instance, property divisions where the total assets are A$700,000 or less and consumer law matters (trade practices) where the amount claimed is less than $750,000.
Magistrates presiding in the Koori Court (which deals with Aboriginal defendants) were originally of a mind not to appear robed; however, elders within the Indigenous community urged magistrates to continue wearing robes to mark the solemnity of the court process to defendants.
According to section 10(6 )of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1898, members of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) Cadre in the capacity of assistant commissioner, upozila mirbahi officer and additional deputy commissioner shall be executive magistrates and may exercise the power of executive magistrates within their existing respective local areas.
A court of chief judicial magistrates can sentence a person to jail for up to seven years and impose fines up to any amount.
A court of sub-divisional judicial magistrates may sentence a person to imprisonment for up to three years and impose a fine of up to ₹10,000 (US$120).
The primary mandate of an Executive Magistrate is to preserve public tranquility and prevent any actions that may disrupt peace and order.
In Virginia, for example, the Constitution of 1971 created the office of magistrate to replace the use in cities and counties of the justice of the peace, which is common in many states for this function.
Magistrate judges conduct a wide range of judicial proceedings to expedite the disposition of the civil and criminal caseloads of the United States district courts.
All other courts, including the district courts, are federal, as they are financed from the federal budget and their judges are appointed by the president of Russia, while the magistrates are financed from the regional budgets and are usually appointed by regional legislatures or elected by the population of a judicial district .
[citation needed] In Switzerland, magistrate is a designation for the persons holding the most senior executive and judicial offices.
In Siam, the position of yakkrabutr (ยกกระบัตร) is similar to that of the magistrate and was given to palace officials sent to provincial capitals to administers law and ensure justice on behalf of the monarch.