A master is a judge of limited jurisdiction in the superior courts of England and Wales and in numerous other jurisdictions based on the common law tradition. A master's jurisdiction is generally confined to civil proceedings and is a subset of that of a superior court judge or justice. Masters are typically involved in hearing specialized types of trials, case management, and in some jurisdictions dispute resolution or adjudication of specific issues referred by judges. Besides the courts of England and Wales, masters may be found in the Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, several Caribbean countries and a number of Canadian provinces. Several state courts in the United States utilize masters or similar officers and also make extensive use of special masters. In some jurisdictions such as the Federal Court in Canada the office of Prothonotary is similar to that of the master. In some countries, the office of master has been renamed to Associate Judge. To date, this has occurred in several Australian States, in New Zealand and in the Canadian province of Ontario. England and Wales In England and Wales a master is a judge in the Chancery and King's Bench Divisions of the High Court exercising jurisdiction in civil matters. When the master presides over a matter within her or his jurisdiction, the decision of the master has the same effect as a decision of a Justice of the High Court within the division of the court to which the master is appointed. The role of a master in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales is concerned primarily with trial and case management of High Court civil claims in London excluding committals to prison, judicial review and criminal cases. There are masters in the King's Bench Division, Chancery Division and the Senior Courts Costs Office (Taxing Masters/Costs Judges) and their roles differ slightly. Such a person is addressed in court as Judge. In all other forms of correspondence, they should be addressed as 'Master Smith' whether the master is male or female. A similar type of master exists in the Court system of Northern Ireland, in several Canadian and Australian jurisdictions as well as in other countries whose court system is based on that of England. The office of master is of ancient origins dating from at least the 12th century, though masters in Chancery were abolished in the 19th century