Recorder (judge)
A recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions.
In other jurisdictions[edit]
Ireland and Northern Ireland[edit]
The Recorder of Dublin was the principal magistrate for the city of Dublin until the office was abolished in 1924. The judicial offices of Recorder of Belfast and Recorder of Derry still exist.[6] There were also, prior to 1924, a Recorder of Cork and Recorders of Limerick (although this office seems to have lapsed about 1840), Youghal, Galway, Enniskillen, Carrickfergus, Kinsale, Dundalk, Waterford, Kilkenny, New Ross, Hillsborough, Cashel, Clonakilty and Clonmel. Given the small population of some of these towns, the Recordership, which was often a right guaranteed to the townspeople by royal charter, was in several cases, such as Kinsale and Clonakilty, a part-time office.
Hong Kong[edit]
Hong Kong operates a system of appointing part-time recorders similar to that in England & Wales. The recordership scheme was introduced in Hong Kong in 1994 to encourage experienced practitioners who are willing to sit as a High Court Judge for a few weeks every year, but are not prepared to commit themselves to a permanent, full-time appointment. It was intended to act as a more formal system of appointment compared to the more ad hoc nature of the appointment of Deputy High Court Judges.[7]
Recorders are practitioners in private practice (in practice, Senior Counsel) who are appointed by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC).[8] The appointment is for a fixed term of a few years, during which the practitioner sits as a recorder hearing cases in the Court of First Instance of the High Court for a few weeks in a year. Recorders may exercise all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a full-time Judge of the Court of First Instance.[9]
The qualification for appointment as a recorder is the same as that for High Court Judge: that is, having practised for at least 10 years as a barrister, advocate, solicitor or judicial officer in Hong Kong or another common law jurisdiction.[10]
As of 1 April 2020, Recorders receive honoraria at a daily rate of HK$11,765.
United States and Canada[edit]
In some U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions, the Recorder's Court is a local court of limited jurisdiction, most often hearing misdemeanors, traffic violations, and other petty criminal offences. The Recorder of New York City was one of the judges of the Court of General Sessions (the local court of general jurisdiction on criminal cases) and presided over most murder trials in New York City. Historically, the City of Detroit, Michigan had a Recorder's Court, which has now been subsumed as 36th District Court and part of Wayne County Circuit Court.
Biblical usage[edit]
In the biblical Kingdom of Israel, the recorder was the chancellor or vizier of the kingdom. He brought all weighty matters under the notice of the king, such as complaints, petitions, and wishes of subjects or foreigners. He also drew up papers for the king's guidance, and prepared drafts of the royal will for the scribes. All treaties came under his oversight, and he had the care of the national archives or records, to which, as royal historiographer, he added the current annals of the kingdom.[11]