2.2 The judicial oath provides:

“I will do right to all manner of people after the laws and usages of this Realm, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”

In taking that oath, the judge has acknowledged that he or she is primarily accountable to the law which he or she must administer.
 

The Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor are jointly responsible for considering and determining complaints about the personal conduct of all judges in England and Wales (and some judges who sit in Tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland). The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) – now the Judicial Complaints Investigations Office – was set up on the 3rd April 2006, to handle these complaints and provide advice and assistance to the Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor in their performance of this joint responsibility.

The Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor take complaints about the judiciary very seriously, and consider it important to maintain public confidence by ensuring such complaints are dealt with by an independent body.