The government should step back from making more changes to the judicial appointments system, law reform group Justice has warned.


Roger Smith, director of Justice, told the Gazette: 'The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 took well over a year to get through Parliament and then needed Lord Woolf to set out the detail in a separate, and delicately balanced, concordat. I would not change anything at this stage. It is too soon.'



The government is consulting on whether the Lord Chancellor should continue to have the power to veto candidates selected by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). The review also asks whether Parliament should be involved in making appointments - something Mr Smith strongly opposes.



A JAC spokeswoman welcomed the consultation: 'We have created a new organisation, and developed a fair and open selection process in a very short time, and this consultation offers a good way to build on that success.'



Anita Rice