Lord Chief Justice, Distinguished Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen, I am delighted to be here to launch the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission, and to announce the appointment of its members. I am especially pleased the Commissioners are able to join me to mark this occasion.
The establishment of a Judicial Appointments Commission was central to the recommendations of the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Review. It heralds radical changes to the arrangements for the selection of judges in Northern Ireland.
From today, the Commission will undertake responsibility from me for organising, overseeing and making recommendations on whom to appoint as judges, for judicial appointments up to the level of High Court judge.
The Commission will make the appointment process more open, more transparent, and it will work towards a judiciary that is reflective of the whole community in Northern Ireland. This new, better system will give the people of Northern Ireland greater confidence in the way their judiciary are appointed.
It is my pleasure to introduce the Commission members today. The Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Brian Kerr, will Chair the Commission, and he will be supported by twelve other members.
Each are specialists in their fields - the law of course, but we also have lay members from the worlds of education and human resources. The members bring together a range of experience of equality and diversity issues. They will all make a key contribution to the work of the new Commission.
The views of the public from outside the legal professions will be brought to bear on the process and the Commission will benefit from a full appreciation of the issues affecting the world today. This will serve to enhance public confidence in the independence of the selection system.
Let me introduce the members. Each tier of the judiciary is represented, and both branches of the legal profession, plus five lay members. They are Mrs Bagnall, Mrs Sinead Burns, Lord Justice Campbell, Peter Cush, John Gordon, Dame Joan Harbison, Ruth Laird, Judge Loughran, Harry McConnell, Professor John Morison, Raymond Mullan, and Mr Justice Weatherup.
I was in Belfast in September last year to launch the appointment scheme for the lay members. We knew how important it was to ensure that the Commission itself is reflective of the whole community here.
The campaign encouraged people from a wide range of backgrounds to apply, and candidates were selected on the basis of the additional value they would bring to the appointments system - be it their experience of selection processes, or their understanding of court users' perspectives.
The members that have been appointed are drawn from all sections of the Northern Ireland community. They will exercise their powers without fear or favour. They do not represent any particular part of the population.
The Commissioners' appointment, and the establishment of the Commission, demonstrates the real and tangible commitment of the Government and myself to the implementation of the Criminal Justice Review here in Northern Ireland. We are committed to maintaining the independence of the judiciary. We are committed to creating a strong justice system here to serve all the people of Northern Ireland. And we are committed to appointment on merit.
The present system of appointing judges has worked well. But it could work better. The Commission represents the beginning of a more modern, democratic and transparent system.
The diversity of any community should be reflected in the diversity of its judges. And the test for judicial appointment must always be on merit. The ability, independence, and probity of the judiciary are its greatest strengths. So, to give our communities the judiciary they deserve, we must encourage all talented people to apply, and put them through a fair, rigourous, and open appointment procedure.
These themes are common to all parts of the United Kingdom. As you know, I will establish a Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales next April, which will perform a similar function for those parts of the UK. And we will draw upon the positive developments in Northern Ireland in doing so.
So, my congratulations to the new members of the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission. They have important work ahead. They will be at the forefront of ensuring the success of this improved process for appointing judges. A vital process that will increase public confidence in the justice system, preserve the independence of the judiciary and help create a modern and diverse judiciary that serves the people of Northern Ireland.
I wish them the very best with their task.
Thank you.