Members of the judiciary under fire from press sniping could be defended by a panel of media-trained judges if a proposal by the Judges Council comes to fruition, the Lord Chief Justice has revealed.


Speaking at the Commonwealth Law Conference in Kenya last week, Lord Phillips said: 'When two or more judges are together, it is not long before they are complaining about the media.'



The problem, the Lord Chief Justice said, is that the press misreports alleged leniency in sentencing, and there is 'a tendency to accuse judges of using, or abusing, the Human Rights Act to justify their wish to treat criminals more leniently'.



The Judicial Communications Office confirmed that some judges may be trained to talk to the press, saying that the Judges Council communications committee, which is chaired by Judge Keith Cutler, has been tasked with looking into the proposal for a panel of media-trained judges who could also 'do broadcast interviews'.



'The aim is for the panel to be used selectively when it is felt a judicial voice would help in producing a more informed and balanced debate,' said a Judicial Communications Office spokesman.



Lord Phillips reiterated his antipathy towards government intervention in choosing judges or initiatives to allow for their election. But the main theme of the speech was judicial independence and the split between the judiciary and the newly created Ministry of Justice.



The Lord Chief Justice told the Nairobi audience that he feared for judicial independence because of resource cutbacks even before the MoJ's creation in May this year.



He added that the then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, made decisions that affected the judiciary 'without our participation and we were then belatedly told what was proposed', even though he was supposed to have been protecting the judiciary's independence.



Rupert White