Judgment day for Whitehall

Government lawyers will be able to sit as part-time judges for the first time under plans announced this week by the Attorney-General and the Lord Chancellor.

The announcement means that lawyers from the Government Legal Service, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will be eligible to sit as civil recorders and deputy district judges in the magistrates' courts.

CPS and SFO lawyers will also be eligible to apply to sit in tribunals.

Currently, government lawyers can only sit on employment and agricultural land tribunals.

In future, the lawyers will not be allowed to sit in on cases involving their own departments.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, emphasised that they will have to apply for the positions in the same way as lawyers from private practice.

Government lawyers who hold part-time judicial appointments in tribunals will also be able to apply to sit full-time in another jurisdiction, such as the circuit bench.

Launching the initiative, the Attorney-General Lord Goldsmith said it improved the career prospects for many government lawyers.

'We want to attract the brightest and the best lawyers to public service, and to deny them the career opportunities their colleagues in private practice have is clearly a disincentive,' he said.

'This removes a barrier for CPS and government lawyers who eventually want to move into a full-time judicial position, because sitting as a part-time judge or tribunal chair is an excellent way to move towards that.'

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir David Calvert-Smith QC, welcomed the move, saying: 'Opening up judicial appointments will bring benefits to both the judiciary and the CPS.

It will expand the diversity of the pool of applicants and will thereby help to enhance the quality of the judiciary and of the justice dispensed by the courts.'

Edward Solomons, legal adviser at the Office of the Official Solicitor and the Law Society Council member for the Government Legal Service, said government lawyers would welcome the opportunity to develop in this area in the same way as their colleagues in private practice.

Dismissing the fear of a potential conflict of interest for government lawyers sitting as judges, he said: 'The overwhelming majority of legislation does not involve the government, as most is between individuals.'

Victoria MacCallum