A master's jurisdiction is generally confined to civil proceedings and is a subset of that of a superior court judge or justice.
Masters are typically involved in hearing specialized types of trials, case management, and in some jurisdictions dispute resolution or adjudication of specific issues referred by judges.
Besides the courts of England and Wales, masters may be found in the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, several Caribbean countries and a number of Canadian provinces.
In England and Wales a master is a judge in the Chancery and King's Bench Divisions of the High Court exercising jurisdiction in civil matters.
[1] The role of a master in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales is concerned primarily with trial and case management of High Court civil claims in London excluding committals to prison, judicial review and criminal cases.
In the Inns of Court, the members of the governing body are known as "Masters of the Bench" or, more commonly, "benchers".
In September 2021, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice changed the title of "case management master" to "associate judge".
[11] Masters and Prothonotaries are independent judicial officers although they do not have the full level of security of tenure afforded to federally appointed judges.
In Ontario, associate judges have all of the authority of traditional masters as well as additional jurisdiction to manage actions and engage in dispute resolution processes.
Associate judges also provide dispute resolution services and sit as Registrars in Bankruptcy.