Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

There has long been a desire to see more female and black and minority ethnic (BAME) people appointed to the judiciary. The present Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas has promoted a number of initiatives designed to build on work already started by the Judicial Appointments Commission.

In April 2017, the Judicial Diversity Committee of the Judges’ Council published its latest report on progress together with – for the first time – an Action Plan for activities to be undertaken in 2017-2018.

The headline objectives of the Committee are set out in the report as follows:

In the next 12 months, we will –

• continue our dialogue with BAME lawyers better to understand the barriers they face and identify what more the judiciary can do to support them;

• work with the Law Society, Bar Council and CILEx to ensure that we are doing all we can to reach the broadest range of talent;

• encourage more networking among the existing courts and tribunals judiciary;

• run more workshops to support a greater number of candidates from under-represented groups to prepare for the selection process;

• further develop our communications to potential candidates and those who have an interest in judicial diversity; and

• improve the monitoring and evaluation of our initiatives.

While these aims may seem  little bland, detailed reading of the report reveals that there is intended to be an extensive programme of workshops, mentoring, outreach and other initiative designed to encourage those from groups currently under-represented in the judiciary to think about law and a judicial career.

The report also provides a link to a number of judges talking about their experience in becoming a judge – designed to inspire others to contemplate following their path. See https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/judges-career-paths/videos-judges-talk-about-their-judicial-careers/

The report is at https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications/judicial-diversity-committee-of-the-judges-council-report-on-progress-and-action-plan-2016-17/