The tricky business of Judges’ names

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. 

My reaction when I heard this news was mixed, as you might expect: lawyers have a reputation for ensuring that the simplest issue has at least two sides to it. We also have a reputation for being traditionalists, instinctively hostile to change. And lawyers have already this year contended with significant changes in nomenclature: we now have a King’s Bench Division, administered by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service; R now stands for ‘Rex’ in criminal prosecutions; and Queen’s Counsel are now King’s Counsel.