JCIO 04/24

A spokesperson for the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office said:

The Lady Chief Justice, with the Lord Chancellor’s agreement, has issued Mr Aaron Agboola JP with a reprimand for persistent failure to complete the minimum annual sittings required of a magistrate.

On appointment, magistrates sign a declaration and undertaking, which includes a commitment to sit for at least 13 days (or 26 half days) a year.

The summary process in the Judicial Conduct (Magistrates) Rules 2014 enables an advisory committee to recommend a magistrate’s removal from office without further investigation where that magistrate has failed, without a reasonable excuse, to meet their minimum sittings requirement.

In recommending Mr Agboola’s removal from office, the London Conduct Advisory Committee (LCAC) took into consideration that he had not met the annual minimum sittings requirement for his role in any of the years since his appointment in 2018.

While the Lord Chancellor and the Lady Chief Justice were in no doubt that Mr Agboola’s actions amounted to misconduct, they were not satisfied that he should be removed from office on this occasion. In deciding to issue him with a reprimand, they took into consideration that he had typically fallen just short of the required number of sittings and that he was on course to meet the requirement in 2023/24. They also noted that Mr Agboola was seeking a transfer to a bench closer to his home address, and that he expected this to enable him to increase his sittings.

Notes for Editors

Media queries in relation to the JCIO should be made in the first instance to the Judicial Press Office - telephone 020 7073 4852 or via email - press.enquiries@judiciary.gsi.gov.uk

Sanctions for misconduct by judicial office-holders are set out in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. They are, in order of severity: formal advice, formal warning, reprimand and removal from office.

For more information about the Office, including details on how to make a complaint against a judicial office holder, you can visit the JCIO website at: Judicial Conduct Investigations website