The General Assembly shall provide by general law for the retirement of Justices and Judges of the General Court of Justice, and may provide for the temporary recall of any retired Justice or Judge to serve on the court or courts of the division from which he was retired. The General Assembly shall also prescribe maximum age limits for service as a Justice or Judge.
(1971, c. 451, s. 1; 1981, c. 513, s. 1.)
History Note. - This section is new with the Constitution of 1970.
Legal Periodicals. - For note entitled, "Gregory v. Ashcroft: The Plain Statement Rule and Judicial Supervision of Federal-State Relations," see 70 N.C.L. Rev. 1563 (1992).
CASE NOTES
Intent of Amendment. - The language employed in the amendment to this section is a clear indication of the people's intent to empower the legislature to interrupt judicial terms of office with an age limit on active service. Martin v. State, 330 N.C. 412, 410 S.E.2d 474 (1991).
Interpretation of "For Service." - The words, "for service," as used in the amendment to this section refers exclusively to the time during which an individual justice or judge is eligible to serve notwithstanding the length of his or her term of office. The words, "for service," as used in this section therefore, evince an intent to empower the legislature to render particular justices or judges ineligible for active service because of age notwithstanding that time may remain in their terms of office. Martin v. State, 330 N.C. 412, 410 S.E.2d 474 (1991).
Denial of Compensation to Judge Removed from Office for Wrongdoing. - The General Assembly acted well within its constitutional authority under this section when it provided in G.S. 7A-376 that a judge who is removed from office for cause other than mental or physical incapacity shall receive no retirement compensation. In re Peoples, 296 N.C. 109, 250 S.E.2d 890 (1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 929, 99 S. Ct. 2859, 61 L. Ed. 2d 297 (1979).
Cited in Blackwelder v. State Dep't of Human Resources, 60 N.C. App. 331, 299 S.E.2d 777 (1983); In re City of Durham Annexation Ordinance Numbered 5991 for Area A, 69 N.C. App. 77, 316 S.E.2d 649 (1984).