Judges could get a dressing down if court laws are reformed

JUDGES could be set to expose their curly locks — or balding heads — under plans to review antiquated laws governing how they dress in court.

The 531-year-old Courts Act of 1476, which decrees that judges must wear a wig and gown while the courts are sitting, is to be reconsidered in the review which will be started by the Law Reform Commission (LFC) later today.

Whether judges would choose to cast off centuries of tradition and go bare-headed to the bench will be a matter for debate, however, as the LFC is inviting them, as well as the rest of the legal profession and the public at large to submit their views before a final recommendation is made to Government.