Sixteen holders of judicial office have been removed from their posts in the last year, with a further 16 being subject to alternative disciplinary action, according to figures published by the Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC).

The first annual report of the OJC shows the body received 1,674 complaints between April 2006 and March 2007 against judges, coroners, tribunals and magistrates in England and Wales.

The lion's share of complaints were against judges, with 948 complaints – although just two resulted in formal reprimands. Magistrates were the subject of 263 complaints, resulting in two formal warnings, 11 reprimands and 15 removals from office.

A majority of the complaints (51%) were about judicial decisions, which are beyond the remit of the OJC and were therefore disregarded by the body. Other complaints covered rudeness, with 99 complaints, inappropriate behaviour and inappropriate comments.

Ninety-two percent of letters and emails received by the OJC were acknowledged within two working days of receipt and in 77% of cases the body decided whether the complaint was within its remit and had informed the complainant of its next step within 15 working days.

OJC chief Dale Simon said: "This has been an exciting year where we have had many innovations, including the development of our website and reporting systems."

The body came in under budget, meanwhile, having paid out £955,845 of an allocated spend of almost £1.2m.