Magistrate

When I saw today’s topic I was really excited to tell you more about the job of my life: magistrate. I don’t know if it has the same signification or role in Chile, so I’ll try to explain.

Since I am 15, I’ve wanted to become a magistrate. The main reason is that, from how far I can remember, I’ve always been furious about inequalities in our society. Thus, my goal is to fix these situations by using the law. I know it may sound utopic, however I think I can help create a better environment for everyone who wasn’t born in the “right” place, the “right” family, the “right” skin. I believe you can make errors in your life, most of them caused by the socio-economical context you live in.

In order to become a French magistrate, you have to follow a master in law, and then take a competitive examination to enter the “National Magistracy’s School” (ENM in French). Once you get in, you are paid by the State to be a student judge during two years and a half. Afterwards you are nominated in a court and can practice either as a prosecutor (an attorney of the State who represents the public’s interest) or a judge (who judges, meaning you take the final decision of the trial). Consequently, this career is very well-defined in terms of salary (there’s a national grid), business trips, and perspectives of evolution.

In concrete terms, you are now a decisive actor of what is going on during a trial, you can choose to be repressive or restorative, you have the power to completely change one’s future life. As a judge, which is my aim, you are independent of all political interests and pressure. Your main activities are to read trial’s files, study them, and then listen to the defendants and/or their lawyers and the prosecutor, to finally announce a verdict.