Court Registrar

Information

The Court Registrar usually sits on a slightly raised platform below the judge facing the court. He or she does not wear any special clothes in court, although sometimes in the High Court if the Registrar happens to also be a barrister, he or she will wear barrister's robes.

Court Registrars are public servants and they are recruited directly from the civil service.

The Registrar's main function is to assist the judge:

• The Registrar has a list of all the cases before the court for the day. He or she calls out each case in turn so that the parties can identify themselves to the court.
• When a witness is called in a case, it is the Registrar who hands the witness the Bible and reads out the oath for the witness to repeat
• The Registrar keeps the court documents (writs, etc.) for each case and hands them to the judge as each case is called
• When the court makes an order, the Registrar keeps a note of the order
• After the day in court, the Registrar drafts the orders that the judge has made that day and keeps a record of those orders
• The Registrar generally deals with the administration necessary for the smooth running of the courts.