The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has reversed a decision to terminate the contracts of 21 part-time immigration judges after they applied for a judicial review of the appointments process.


The DCA had told the judges that they had been unsuccessful in a 2005 competition for immigration posts and would not be re-appointed. This was one of the last competitions run by the DCA before responsibility for selection was handed over to the Judicial Appointments Commission in April 2006.



Meriel Schindler, head of employment law at City firm Withers, who acted for the judges, claimed that the 2005 competition was conducted in an unlawful manner and not strictly on merit. In particular, no account had been taken of the judges' track records and appraisals or of the views of the senior immigration judiciary.



Ms Schindler said: 'Fair and open recruitment procedures are essential for the integrity, impartiality and independence of the judiciary. The more we investigated, the more problems emerged with the 2005 competition.'



The DCA responded to the representations of Ms Schindler's clients by offering a settlement and the judges have now all been re-appointed on renewable contracts, which Ms Schindler said in effect means they will be automatically renewed.



Ms Schindler added: 'I'm delighted that the 21 lawyers for whom I acted will now continue to sit as part-time immigration judges. The fact that they are all lawyers, of course, means they fully understand what a landmark achievement this is.'



A spokesman for the DCA, which never admitted liability, said: 'A competition was started in 2005, finishing in November 2006, when 212 fee-paid immigration judges were appointed on five-year, renewable terms. Twenty-one of the current fee-paid immigration judges, who were unsuccessful in this competition, applied for a judicial review. We cannot comment further on these legal proceedings.'



Jonathan Rayner