Anyone reading the recent articles on judicial appointments by the Lord Chief Justice and the president of the Law Society might think that there were few barriers to attaining a fair system of making judicial appointments (see [2009] Gazette, 17 April, 10-11). This is simply not the case.

The whole system for appointing judges is biased against solicitors and black and minority ethnic (BME) applicants.

Some 18 months ago, the Society of Asian Lawyers, together with other BME groups, submitted detailed reports to the Ministry of Justice about the failings of the judicial appointments system. These demonstrated that the system of making appointments operated by the Judicial Appointments Commission was more unfair to solicitors and BME applicants than the previous system.

Nothing that we have seen in the last 18 months causes us to change our views. The suggestion that the low number of appointments among solicitors and BME applicants may be down to a negative perception of the operation of the system by such applicants, or that they are less likely to be released for fee-paid judicial work by their firms, does not stand up to scrutiny.

If BME applicants who are considered to be role models for others are turned down for such positions without even being interviewed, what hope is there for those who would genuinely be interested in applying?

It is very easy to use hyperbole about the appointments system to advertise the JAC – but much more difficult to produce the results to justify the self-congratulation. The Society of Asian Lawyers, for its part, will continue with its endeavours to attempt to make the system fairer.

Sundeep Bhatia, Chair, Society of Asian Lawyers