Justice of the Peace

A member of a fairly well established (14th Century) group of voluntary legal officers. The title is often abbreviated to JP.

Established by King Edward in 1327 by way of legislation as the "Peace Officer", their office was to deal with minor offenses, and thus ease workload for the Judges. At the time, any offense against the peace was considered to be an offense against the king, and any offense against the "King's Peace" was treated severely.

Traditionally the role was awarded to landed gentry, and other "Highly Respectable" members of the community. These officers were allowed to use the title of "Justice", which of course eroded to become Justice of the Peace.

Being an English Thang, the system spread to the other Colonies, where it still thrives on, performing different but still vital functions for the community as a whole.

There are 3 levels of Justice's here in Queensland, and they are:-

• Commissioner for Declarations
who basically witness signatures
• Justice of the Peace (Qualified)
similar to the duties of a Commissioner for Declarations, but can perform minor judicial duties, both bench and non-bench
• Justice of the Peace (Magistrates Court)
who has all the bods and sods of the previous 2 roles, and also has the additional power, when there are 2 together, to constitute a Magistrates Court to deal with Guilty Pleas for simple offenses.

There roles were introduced in 1991, in the Justices of the Peace and Commissioners for Declarations Act 1991. In order to become a JP, you must be

• Over 18
• A Resident of Queensland
• Of Good Character
• Have 2 Written References and one 3rd Referree

In addition, to become either of the last 2 qualifications requires you to sit an exam. Once all qualifications are met, you send an application form to your electorates MP, who signs it, and you then take your oath, and recieve your Seal of Office and certificate. Now, you're a fully licenced JP, ready to serve the community.

Interested? Don't go rushing out yet... you're disqualified from being a JP IF:-

• You are an undischarged bankrupt or taking advantge, as a debtor, of the current laws relating to bankrupt or insolvent debtors
• Convicted of an indictable offence
• A Patient within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1974
• Convicted of:-
  • Wrongly acting as a JP
  • Recieving a reward for the performance of your official duties as a JP (Qual)
• convicted of more then two offences other than an offence under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995
• were convicted of an offence other then an offence under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 within five years prior to appointment
• were convicted of an offence under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995 section 79 or 80, within five years prior to appointment
• were convicted of more than two offences under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995, within five years prior to appointment
• were given notice by the Registrar as being not qualified to be a JP

So, no speeding, or being a general Nogoodnic, which is probably not indicitive of being a good member of the community.

Information for this node taken from "The Duties of Justices of the Peace (Qualified)", Copyright Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Queensland, 2001. This information is available at http://www.justice.qld.gov.au.

Thanks to rootbeer277 for a correction.