On the 1st December 2022 the Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of the Tribunals announced a change in the practice of how certain Judges are addressed in court. Julien Foster subsequently wrote an article for The Spectator on the tricky business of how to address judges.

Opening paragraph: From now on, barristers like me will no longer have to worry about calling a District Judge ‘Sir’ or avoiding clumsy expressions such as ‘Has Sir read the papers?’ in court. Nor will I have to wonder if I have to call a judge ‘Madam’, ‘Ma’am’ (to rhyme with dam) or ‘Ma’am (to rhyme with calm). Instead, all advocates, litigants and witnesses in England and Wales will now address most judges in court simply as ‘Judge’, after a new ruling from the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals. 

Read the rest of Julien's article on how to address judges via the link below.

The article was published in The Spectator on the 11th December 2022.