Judge's costumes in the United States have a long and complicated history. After the revolution, many of the Founders wanted to purge their nation of any symbols of the old English aristocratic order- including what Jefferson called the "needless official appeal" of judges. Others disagreed, and eventually a compromise was reached in which the hated judicial wigs were banned, but the robes of office remained. In true federalist form, further regulation of judicial costume was left to the jurisdiction of the individual states.

Originally the federal judges of the United States wore grandiose robes, as you can see above. These got simpler and simpler as time went on, and gradually evolved into the basic black robe seen today.

Many states- especially in the South- shared Jefferson's original mentality, and had their judges wear no official costume for a long period of time. This changed around the mid 19th Century when the states and feds began to increasingly harmonize, and from then on almost every judge in America has started to wear a standardized black robe over a formal business suit. Women judges tend to accessorize with a frilly white collar, though this varies from judge to judge.

Despite the standardization, there are still some quaint exceptions to the black robe hegemony. It's fairly common in the US for members of a state Supreme Court wear a distinct costume. For example:
- In Maryland, judges of the Court of Appeals (Maryland's supreme court) wear red robes, with British-style white "cross" collars.
- The Supreme Court justices of Pennsylvania wear special red, yellow, and green sashes over their black robes.
- The Supreme Court Justices of Georgia wear gray robes with black linings and black bars on the sleeves.
- The Supreme Court justices of Puerto Rico wear robes with Spanish-style frills in the robe cuffs (see Spain, below).
....and so on.

The late Federal Chief Justice, William Rehnquist, famously modified his own Chief Justice robe in 1994 to make it resemble the robe of the British Lord Chancellor, whom he had seen portrayed in a play the night before. His robe had four gold stripes on each arm, but was otherwise the same as most American judicial robes. There was some speculation that this tradition would continue with the next Chief Justice, John Roberts, but he has instead reverted back to wearing a plain black robe.

In several other countries judges wear plain back robes very similar to the robes worn by American judges.

Israeli judges wear the same basic plain black robes as Americans, except they keep them open and loose like coats. Mexican judges only wear robes at the Supreme Court level, and these are likewise identical in style to the Americans'. Filipino judges are the same as well, the only exception being judges of the Filipino Supreme Court, who wear special robes with purple outer lining.

Judicial robes never really caught on in most of Latin and South America. Most judges in that region don't wear any sort of official costume at all while in court, just their normal business suits. Sometimes they might wear a medal or something, as we can see in the example of Peru, above.

In a few countries the Supreme Court justices wear robes, but these are usually just the American / Israeli / Spanish solid black type things, and nothing special. The only notable exceptions I have found are shown above.

Like everything else in Britain, British judicial costumes are regulated according to a myriad of ancient traditions, customs, and laws. Many of these rules date back to at least the 14th Century, making the modern British judicial system one of the world's oldest.

The British judicial branch is very complex, and is composed of dozens of different courts of jurisdiction with grandiose names like the "Queen's Bench" the "Chancery Division" and the "Crown Court." Depending on which branch the judge belongs to, he could wear one of many different costumes. Unlike many other countries which limit their judges to wearing only red or black, in Britain judges wear almost every color. There are judges with blue robes, green robes, white robes, and even purple and pink ones.

There are several constants, however. All upper court justices in Britain wear the famous "full bottomed" powdered wigs while lower court judges wear the shorter "barrister" wig. This is a holdover from the time when judges were members of the aristocracy, and it was considered fashionable for important people to show off their social status by wearing long flowing wigs. Once a year there is a special ceremony in Westminster Abbey during which all of the nation's judges assemble to commemorate the start of the legal year. On formal occasions such as that, all judges wear "full bottomed" wigs.

Most British judges also wear a special stiff white "cross" collar. The exact origins of this collar are obscure, but some have speculated it was supposed to represent the twin tablets of the ten commandments that were carried by Moses. The same collar is worn by high-ranking clergy within the Anglican church, so it clearly has some form of religious origins.

Britain's highest-ranking judicial official, and defacto Chief Justice is the Lord Chancellor. He wears a special gold and black robe, or at least he used to. Tony Blair's guy has controversially stopped wearing it.

For whatever reason, the judges in many ex-British colonies have never bothered to change their costumes. Frankly, I would have assumed such outfits would be the first thing to go upon assuming independence, as nothing screams "legacy of colonialism" quite like a black guy in a white wig.

From what I have been able to tell, the British style of dress is worn in every former British colony in Africa, as well as in Singapore, the Caribbean, Belize, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. South Asian countries have changed their outfits slightly, as has Canada, as we will see below.

In Australia the High Court judges abandoned their wigs and red robes in the 1980's in favor of American-style black ones. Some states in the Australian federation have followed suit, while others have not.

Judges in the Republic of Ireland continue to wear British-style robes and wigs. After Ireland became independent in the late 1930's there was a half-hearted attempt to introduce distinctly "Gaelic" costumes to the nation's judges. These never caught on, however, and today Irish judges remain largely indistinguishable from their hated British counterparts.

In most African countries the elaborate fur-lining of British judicial robes has been ditched for the simple reason that it's too hot for the judges to wear.

Another notable innovation is the the fact that in many former colonies the nation's Chief Justice often wears the gold-trimmed robes of the Lord Chancellor. This creates an interesting clash between the symbolism of the British judicial system, which was too complicated for any colony to emulate, and the American-style "Supreme Court" system which most colonies actually adopted.

Canadian judges dress similar to British justices but with a few key differences. The most obvious difference is that unlike justices in most of the Commonwealth, Canadian judges do not wear wigs. Different regions of Canada ended the use of judicial wigs at different times. In Ontario and Quebec wigs have not been worn since at least the mid 19th Century. In British Columbia they were formally abolished in 1905. I am not exactly sure what the situation was in the Maritimes. I would assume that because of Newfoundland's extended history as a sovereign crown colony the wigs were retained for a longer period than in the rest of the country.

Middle level judges wear black robes with color lining, or a sash on the front. The color depends on the type of court they are part of:

Supreme / Appeals Court of New Brunswick- gold lining
Supreme / Appeals Court of Nova Scotia- black sash
Supreme / Appeals Court of other provinces- red sash
Provincial Family Court Court- green sash
Tax Court of Canada- purple lining
Citizenship Court- burgundy lining

Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada wear robes similar to that of High Court judges in Britain. The main difference is that the fur lining on the Canadian judges is considerably fluffier, contributing to the infamous "Santa" look that Canadians so often mock. Canadian Supreme Court judges also have tri-cornered black hats, but these are never worn and usually just displayed as an accessory.

Some of the ex-British colonies in South Asia have given up the wigs as well. While they still wear some of the British-style dress, most have likewise abandoned the more extravagant red fur-trimmed robes and have instead made the simple black robes the standard fare for almost all ranks of judges.

India apparently abolished wigs quite early after independence, probably either in the late 50's or early 60's.

There has been somewhat of an ongoing struggle in Pakistan over the issue of court dress. Judges with a more Islamist philosophy (such as the nation's former Chief Justice, pictured above) have tended to eschew symbols of British law, and as a result often don't wear wigs in court and simply wear their robes over a traditional "Nehru" style jacket. The country's more secular judges, however, (such as the current Chief Justice) continue to wear the wigs and fancy collars. So costume really varies from judge to judge. Unlike his Indian counterpart, the Chief Justice of Pakistan still wears the Lord Chancellor's robe.

Malaysia is another Muslim nation, and the situation is largely the same as in Pakistan. The hats the Malaysian and Pakistani guys are wearing are traditional Muslim hats, and don't have anything to do with the formal judicial costume.

Sri Lanka only abolished the British monarchy in 1972, making it likely the most Anglophilic country in the region. It never abolished the wigs or the red fur-lined robes.

French judges are known for their distinctive red robes, but lower court judges actually wear plain black ones like in Britain and America. Both male and female judges wear plain white scarfs as a collar.

Mid-level justices wear a combination red-and-black robe, while France's Supreme Court justices wear completely red robes with elaborate fur-linings. Wearing medals on robes is quite common in France as well.

Originally, all French judges wore little cylindrical hats, with red hats for the high judges and black ones for the lower justices. These have been largely phased out in recent years, however.

One other distinct feature about French judges, which is hard to see in the above photos, is that part of the judicial costume involves a long strip of fabric which is slung over the left shoulder and dangles down. The piece often has a small strip of white fur at the end. They call it the epitoge, I don't know if it has any translateable word in English.

Judges in Switzerland dress exactly the same as judges in France, presumably a holdover from when the French conquered the country in the late 18th Century.

Another interesting side-note about French judicial dress- French university graduates and chancellors wear the exact same robes as judges.

Like Britain's colonies, the former colonies of France have never bothered to change their judicial costumes in the post-independence era. The only distinct feature is that they still wear the little hats.

Along with the countries listed above, this sort of dress is worn in places such as Lebanon, Cambodia, Madagascar, and even Algeria.

It's probably safe to assume the Communist rulers of Vietnam have abolished such fancy dress.

Italian judges wear black robes over their suits. Around their neck they wear a white "dickie" with a small white bow-tie and frilled collar. On each shoulder of the robe is a gold tassel. Italian lawyers wear robes with silver tassels.

Italian judges used to also wear little black hats that looked very much like the hats worn by French judges. Like the French hats, however, these have been largely phased out in recent years.

Lower court German judges wear their robes over a shirt and tie. The interesting quirk however is that they always wear white ties. I assume this tradition started once men got tired of wearing frilly collars.

I'm sure by now I don't need to mention the fact that German judges also have hats they never wear.

Spanish judges dress a lot like American ones, wearing only plain black robes. The main difference is that in higher courts, Spanish judicial robes have elaborate frilly cuffs, and a small crest-like medal with the Coat of Arms of Spain on the left breast.

Presidents of higher courts will also wear medals and chains signifying thier rank.

Like their Spanish neighbors, Portuguese judges wear solid black robes, and high court judges wear medallions around their necks. The main difference is that in Portugal every judge wears the medallion (not just the Chief Justice), and the robes apparently have very high collars, making it a mystery as to what they are wearing underneath.

In the so-called "Benelux" bloc (Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg) all the judges dress largely alike. Lower court judges wear simple back robes with a wide, flat collar and a button-up front. High court judges wear a more elaborate red-and-black ensemble with a frillier collar.

The only exception to this is the French region of Belgium. The judges in this area wear French costumes, complete with hat.

They wear Dutch-style robes in Indonesia as well, which of course is a former Dutch colony.

South Africa was originally colonized by the Netherlands, and as a result the judges in that country wear Dutch-style costumes and not the dress of the British, who colonized them later on.

After apartheid ended and the political system was restructured, South Africa's highest court became the Constitutional Court. Their judges have special green robes.

During the Communist days judges didn't wear robes, as these were considered (rightly, I suppose) symbols of the old aristocratic order. Instead, Eastern European judges just wore those bland Mao jackets, or military uniforms.

Today Eastern European judges all wear different robes, though they're all fairly simple in design. Some of their costumes are nearly identical to the robes worn in Western Europe.

It appears that a common trend is for Eastern European judges to wear some sort of large medallion or chain around their neck

I realize these are not great photos but hopefully you get the gist.

Some countries in Asia were never colonized by outside powers. As a result the judges of China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand don't wear European-style costumes unlike the judges in many of their neighboring nations.

For some reason or another the judges of Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand have all ended up wearing very similar costumes. These consist of a black, American-style robe with colored trim.

Japanese judges just wear plain black. As their judges wear this costume as well, I suppose technically I could have included the Philippines in this category too (see above).

In China, judges originally wore military uniforms, like Soviet judges. During the reforms of the 80's and 90's these were ditched in favor of bland, black Japanese/American style robes.

Like in Asia, there are a few countries in the greater Middle East that were never directly colonized by outsiders. These also tend to be some of the more fundamentalist countries of the modern era.

As fundamentalist Muslim countries tend to be quite anti-Western (to put it mildly) judges in these nations wear very simplistic costumes, denouncing fancy courtroom dress as a foreign practice. In Iran, for example, the judges rarely wear anything more than traditional Muslim turbans and robes. As Islam is the source of the nation's laws, it doesn't make sense to dress as anything other than a Muslim while in court.

Judges in Libya and Egypt simply wear green sashes over their business suits. Green is the color of Islam.

Even judges in supra-national judicial bodies wear official robes of one form or another. In order to be as international as possible, these costumes tend to be as bland and generic as possible, as to not clearly look inspired by any one particular nation. That being said, I think they are quite clearly based on the French robes.