The Lord Chancellor is committed to ensuring a judiciary of the highest calibre, with candidates drawn from the widest possible range of available talent. In partnership with the Judicial Appointments Commission and the judiciary, the Lord Chancellor's aim is to increase public confidence in the justice system through a judiciary which better reflects and has a greater understanding of the society it serves.
The Government issued a consultation paper in October 2004 seeking views on measures to increase the diversity of the judiciary. Following this consultation exercise, the Lord Chancellor announced a series of measures in March 2005 at the Woman Lawyer Forum conference. In July 2005, he announced changes to eligibility for judicial office aimed at increasing diversity in the judiciary, and progress on other aspects of the programme. On 2 November 2005 the Lord Chancellor announced further measures, including a new drive to encourage solicitors to apply to become judges.
Following the announcement in May 2006 of a joint strategy agreed between the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice and the Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission to promote diversity in the judiciary, measures against which the progress will be monitored were agreed in July 2006. Reporting arrangements are currently being considered.
In May 2006 the Lord Chancellor announced how the judicial diversity strategy would be taken forward following the launch of the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Lord Chief Justice's changed role, provided for in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
In addition to the strategy itself the Lord Chancellor announced, in a written ministerial statement, a number of further measures designed to promote greater diversity in the judiciary:
As part of our commitment to improve judicial diversity we commissioned research exploring why women and ethnic minorities are under represented in the judiciary. The research was conducted by Opinion Leader Research, who carried out a number of in depth interviews and group discussions with female and ethnic minority judges and white male barristers and solicitors. The recommendations from this report have been incorporated into the judicial diversity strategy launched by the Lord Chancellor on 17 May 2006.
We have made improvements over recent years to judges' working arrangements, such as more flexible working and better support for serving judges, to better meet the needs of a diverse judiciary.
Part-time salaried working enables those who cannot, or do not wish to, undertake full-time salaried sittings to become permanent judicial office holders. The scheme was first introduced for some sectors of the judiciary in 2001 and from April 2005 the scheme was extended to enable all candidates below high court level, either for first-time salaried appointment or those already in service, to apply to sit part-time, whether in the courts or tribunals.
From February 2006, the opportunity to request a career break became available for salaried judicial office-holders at circuit judge level and below. Career breaks are an ideal way of accommodating a wide range of activities and needs, including:
In general, career breaks can be from 3 months to 3 years duration and an office holder will normally have served two years before becoming eligible to apply.
We are committed to ensuring equality for disabled people who apply for judicial appointment and for serving judges who have an impairment or long term medical condition. We want to make sure that disabled lawyers are confident that what matters is their quality and ability as a lawyer, and that they will be assessed only against the competencies, the same as every other candidate. On 2 November 2005, we published an action plan on disability equality and judicial appointment. The action plan provides a framework for ensuring our practices and processes promote equality for disabled people. We published a progress report against the action plan in December 2005. Further information will be published in due course.
We are consulting on conditions and safeguards to be put into place to allow former holders of salaried judicial appointment to return to practice after leaving the bench. The consultation started on 12 September 2006 and ends on 8 December 2006.
March 2007
Step up to a judicial career
We have produced a booklet and DVD on being/becoming a judge. The DVD/booklet
are aimed at those people who are already eligible to apply for judicial
office and those who might become eligible to apply in the future. The
DVD, produced in October 2005, is about
10 minutes long and portrays 'A day in the life of a judge'. The
booklet, originally produced in October 2005 and updated in March 2007, goes into more depth and demonstrates the wide range of judicial
career opportunities that are available for lawyers from all backgrounds
and through
different career paths. It explains what a judge's work involves and
is illustrated with case studies from exisiting judges from a wide variety
of backgrounds. The DVD and booklet are available, in alternative formats,
on request by emailing us.
December 2006
Judge the rewards: a guide to the benefits of judicial service
A judicial career offers important, interesting and varied work where you can make a real difference to people's lives. But as a judicial office holder you will also enjoy a range of other personal and professional benefits. This leaflet, published in December 2006, outlines the range of posts available across the judiciary and sets out the benefits of office including:
October 2005
You be the judge
If you are thinking about a career in the law and considering becoming a judge when you are experienced enough, we have produced a leaflet "you be the judge", providing information on the types of judges, which courts they sit in and what they do.
The judicial work shadowing scheme is now administered by the Directorate of Judicial Offices. The scheme allows a solicitor or barrister to spend up to three days with a Circuit Judge or District Judge in the civil and magistrates courts. CPD points are available for attendance on the scheme. For further information on the work shadowing scheme, phone 020 7073 1630, email or go to the judiciary of England and Wales website.
Information on monthly judicial statistics, including diversity statistics, is available on the Directorate of Judicial Offices website. The Lord Chief Justice is responsible for monthly judicial statistics.