The modern JP belongs to a centuries-old system of honorary legal officers.

In 1195, Richard I (the Lion-Heart) commissioned knights to keep the peace in unruly areas and they were known as 'Keepers of the Peace'.

During the reign of Henry III selected citizens were appointed to the role of custodes pacis, or "conservators of the peace" who were charged with the administrative and semi-military functions of maintaining the King's peace throughout his lands.

In 1327, Edward III introduced the role of "Peace Officer" to deal with minor offences thus allowing judges to deal with the more serious offences.

By 1361, Peace Officers could use the word "justice" in their title.

Over the years, they became known as Justices of the Peace.

The Tudor monarchs in the 16th century established the first real system of local government, and to do this they made use of the already established system of Justices of the Peace.

They placed most of the responsibility for administering the English parishes upon the local Justices who were responsible for the upkeep of the highways, imposition of local rates, licencing of alehouses and the administration of Poor Law (a social security system of sorts).

In Australia the Royal Letters Patent under the Second Commission of Governor Phillip, dated April 2 1787, appointed the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and the Judge Advocate to be the colony's first Justices of the Peace.

The authority derived from the Letters Patent, which gave the Governor the sole power to appoint and dismiss Justices of the Peace within the colony.

Selected landowners and civil and military officers were appointed as early JPs.

The Reverend Samuel Marsden was one of the most famous of these honorary magistrates.

JPs were authorised to keep the peace for the colony of NSW by being able to arrest, take bail, and bind to good behaviour, and to suppress and punish riots/rioters.

JPs belonged to the class now generically known as magistrates.

Their judicial duties enabled them to sit in court and adjudicate on petty crimes and minor civil matters and to commit the more serious cases for trial by higher courts.

Early JPs administered both the police force and the convict system.

Their responsibilities in the latter included overseeing convict musters, assignments and discipline as well as the granting of tickets-of-leave.

The introduction of paid magistrates (known as police or stipendiary magistrates) from the mid 1820s heralded the steady erosion of both powers and responsibilities of JPs.

The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1832 reigned in the judicial powers of the magistrates by specifying both the offences over which they had jurisdiction and the punishments accompanying these offences.

By 1850, the paid magistracy was a well-entrenched feature of the local legal system.

The Justice of the Peace (Jurisdiction) Act 1850 further regulated both the judicial and ministerial duties of justices.

Prior to 1901 the commission of the Justice of the Peace lasted until the death of the Sovereign.

Under the Demise of the Crown Act (No. 57, 1901), the office of Justice of the Peace became a lifetime appointment.

The passing of the Women's Legal Status Act 1918 paved the way for the appointment of the first female Justices of the Peace in NSW in 1921.

The appointment of the first Aboriginal woman Justice of the Peace (Ella Simon) occurred in 1962.

With the repeal of the Justice of the Peace Act 1902 - replaced by the Justices of the Peace Act 2002 - in July 2003 the authority by which Justices of the Peace could constitute a sitting of a Local Court in New South Wales was abolished.

This resulted in the functions of a Justice of the Peace being limited to taking declarations, the swearing or affirming of affidavits, witnessing signatures and certifying documents.

The JP training day will be held this Thursday (August 25). 

For more details contact Paul Phillips on 0414 256 066 or John Reid on 0418 215 379.

-Information courtesy of the NSW Justices Association