West Hertfordshire Magistrates
A Brief History of the Magistracy
I,..................................., swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lady Queen Elizabeth the Second, in the office of Justice of the Peace and I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of the Realm without fear or favour, affection or ill will.
The Judicial Oath
The Oath of Allegiance
All new magistrates take the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath during their Swearing In Ceremony.
'I swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, her heirs and successors, according to law.'
The part played by magistrates in the judicial system of England and Wales can be traced to 1195 when Richard 1 commissioned certain knights to be 'Keepers of the Peace'
The title Justices of the Peace derives from 1361, in the reign of Edward III. An Act of 1327 had referred to "good and lawful men" to be appointed in every county in the land to "guard the Peace".
The idea of JPs meeting four times a year was originally introduced in 1361. Thus began the Quarter Sessions which continued until replaced by Crown Courts in 1972.
An Act of 1389 granted justices a daily allowance of four shillings. The wealthy landowners failed to collect these expenses and they lapsed. The justices became - as they still are - 'the great unpaid'.
For the following 600 years, and continuing today, Justices of the Peace have undertaken the greater part of the judicial work carried out in England and Wales on behalf of the Sovereign.
Origin of the Office
'The Great Unpaid'
Quarter Sessions
(c) Magistrates Association
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