The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) has launched a consultation on the handling of complaints and discipline of judges, following the merger of the courts and tribunals service last year.

The consultation, which opened last week and will run until 23 May this year, is aiming to gather feedback on creating a more efficient judicial complaints process, after Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service was created in April 2011, bringing the two factions together.

The consultation document, drawn up by a committee chaired by Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Toulson, sets out 21 recommendations, including the renaming of the OJC as the 'Judicial Conduct Investigations Office', so as to better define its responsibilities.

Other proposals include a reduction in the amount of time after an incident has occurred that a complaint can be made from 12 months to three, as well as the implementation of one overarching set of regulations with separate nuances for courts judiciary, tribunal judges and magistrates.

The OJC is planning to put all new regulations before Parliament after the consultation has closed this spring, with a view to implementing the changes in late 2012 to early 2013.

The review was carried out at the request of the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice.

The news comes after Her Majesty's Courts Service and the Tribunals Service merged on 1 April this year in a bid to create one integrated agency responsible for the administration of the criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales and non-devolved tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland.