STANDARDS: broadening eligibility may hit public perception of quality, warn solicitors


Moving to a unified structure will significantly raise the status of the tribunal system, but extending eligibility for judicial appointment could diminish people's perception of standards, solicitors have warned.



Responding to a government consultation on the draft Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill, the Law Society welcomed the proposals for an overarching tribunal structure consisting of a first-tier or first instance tribunal with an upper appellate tribunal, under the supervision of the Lord Chancellor.



Up to now, most tribunals have been created by primary legislation when needed, without any form of connected framework, and administered by the government departments responsible for the policy area in which that tribunal has jurisdiction.



Chancery Lane said the new structure would provide greater clarity and simplicity for its users and advisers.



It also supported the decrease in the length of experience required for judicial appointment, but said eligibility should be confined to solicitors and barristers. The Society expressed concern about the suggested provision to give the Lord Chancellor power to further extend eligibility to any person with sufficient legal experience, including legal executives.



'It is important to guard against any perception that the standards for appointment to the new tribunal are lower than for the rest of the judiciary,' it said. It added that those entitled to apply to be judges should be clearly defined and set out on the face of the Bill.



The Law Society is also worried that much of the detail of how the Bill will work in practice has been left to secondary legislation, which it said would make it harder for solicitors to get to grips with its detail and practicalities.



Catherine Baksi