Achieving judicial diversity may require more work than is envisaged, suggests Geoffrey Bindman QC
The House of Lords’ Constitution Committee published its report on judicial appointments on 28 March and concluded that a more diverse judiciary would increase confidence in the justice system. It rejected the notion that those from under-represented groups are less worthy candidates or that a more diverse judiciary would undermine the quality of our judges. It recommended greater commitment by the government and the legal profession to encourage applications from lawyers other than barristers.
This was hardly novel. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA 2005) already obliges the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to appoint solely on merit, while at the same time appointing only those of “good character”, and having regard to the need to encourage diversity. The Lords’ committee says: “We support the current appointments model and believe that no fundamental changes should be made.” Yet the proportion of women and ethnic minorities in the judiciary falls far short of their proportion in the population as a whole. Only five of the 54 most senior judges
