Recruitment: nearly twice as many women and lawyers from ethnic minority groups appointed as ten years ago, says DCA

Changes in the judicial appointments process have led to almost twice as many women and lawyers from ethnic minority groups being appointed to the judiciary and tribunals as ten years ago, a report by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) revealed last month.


In the six months since 1 April last year, women have comprised 46% of judicial appointments, while 17% have been from ethnic minority groups (see [2006] Gazette, 2 February, 5 ).

The latest High Court recruitment exercise contained a number of improvements on the 2003 round. For the first time, only those who had completed and submitted an application form were considered for appointment. A new framework of qualities and skills was introduced, and candidates were invited to complete a short self-assessment against those skills.


All candidates were asked to nominate between three and six consultees in their application, in addition to a limited group of automatic consultees. This evidence, together with the self-assessments, was considered by panels consisting of a retired DCA official, a member of the senior judiciary and an experienced law assessor. The assessments were considered in discussions between the Lord Chancellor and judicial heads of division in selecting candidates.


Below High Court level, the number of competencies assessed was reduced from nine to five last June. An assessment centre was developed for recorder appointments and piloted in the western circuit last February, simulating the work of a recorder through role-play exercises, a written exercise, a technical test on criminal law and an interview. A similar centre was developed for the appointment of fee-paid chairmen of employment tribunals.


A new judicial consultation process was introduced for the recorder and circuit bench competitions, with a view to providing a better balance between the views of judges and the candidate’s own referees. Presiding judges nominated up to four judges likely to know the applicant’s work, while the candidate was still able to nominate up to six consultees. Those candidates who maintained they had limited visibility to the judiciary – likely to be solicitors – were able to alert the panel to this during selection.


From April this year, appointments below High Court level will be made by the Judicial Appointments Commission. The new body is expected to take over appointments to the High Court and above after April next year (see [2006] Gazette, 26 January, 5).



The Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said: ‘We have made progress in increasing the diversity of the judiciary, but we need to do more by ensuring that our appointments processes are as fair, open, transparent and efficient as possible. We want to see candidates in every under-represented group applying in proportion to their presence in the pool regardless of background, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation or age. I would also want to continue to ensure that the best candidates are appointed on merit.’