ABSTRACT
The magistrates’ court hears 98% of criminal cases. The trial is before a minimum of two and a maximum of seven magistrates (though there are several functions which one magistrate alone can perform), unless the magistrate is a paid magistrate called a ‘stipendiary’, in which case he can try a case sitting alone. The magistrate is called by his or her normal name and is addressed in court as ‘Your worship’ or, less formally, simply as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’.
