How Much do Judges Earn?
The answer is: it depends. The range of earnings varies, and is dependent on the type of Judge.
Generally speaking, the more senior the judge, the higher the salary. Therefore, to understand how much judges earn it is helpful to break down the earnings by the different types of courts and Judges that exist in England and Wales.
The types of courts, and judges, that deal with civil claims are:
The County Court. This is the lowest court in the civil court hierarchy. It deals with claims that are deemed to be of relatively low value. There are two types of judge that regularly work in the County Court:
District Judges are the full-time judges that deal with the more straightforward cases. They earn £126,514 per year.
Circuit Judges are the full-time judges that tend to deal with more complex or specialist cases. Circuit Judges earn £157,705 per year.
The High Court. This is the court that deals with claims that are considered too high value, too complex, or too specialist to be dealt with in the County Court. Its judges are known as Puisne Judges of the High Court. They earn £212,351 per year.
The Court of Appeal. The civil division of this court hears appeals from the High Court (appeals from the County Court take place either in the County Court but in front of a more senior judge, or in the High Court). Judges in the Court of Appeal are called Lord/Lady Justices of Appeal, and they earn £241,796 per year.
The Supreme Court. This is the most senior court in England and Wales, and very few civil cases end up in the Supreme Court. Its judges are called Justices of the Supreme Court, and they earn £254,274 per year.
There are lots of other different types of judges in England and Wales, but most of them are unlikely to hear any construction, engineering, or property-related disputes.
The least well paid of all are the Salaried (Regional) Medical Members of the Social Entitlement Chamber, who earn £100,531 per year. The highest paid is the Lord Chief Justice, who earns £294,821 per year.