News - News - Wanted: BME and Solicitor Judges

The Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA), Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and the Law Society joined forces yesterday to launch the initiative aimed at encouraging solicitors to apply for judicial office.

Harriet Harman, Minister for Judicial Diversity, spoke about the importance of increasing diversity within the judiciary, particularly, a judiciary that reflects and understands the society upon which it is making decisions. She stated that a wider pool is not a threat to merit and quality but guarantees this.

Baroness Prashar, Chairman of the JAC which was set up in April 2006, set out its role and its three tasks of defining merit (what makes a good judge), assessing merit and how to encourage a wider pool of solicitors to apply for judicial appointment. She was very keen to emphasise that advocacy and knowing other judges are not requirements for judicial appointment.

Also speaking was Kevin Martin, the outgoing President of the Law Society, who stated that the new system will improve quality.

The event, hosted at the Simmons and Simmons offices, was attended by other JAC commissioners as well as judges, including the highest ranking BME judge in the country, Mrs Justice Dobbs.