A more diverse judiciary requires a cultural change, says Geoffrey Bindman QC
In April 2014 the Shadow Justice Secretary, Sadiq Khan MP, invited Karon Monaghan QC and me to suggest what a future Labour government could do to ensure that our judges better reflect wider society. This month we handed him our report Judicial Diversity: Accelerating Change.
In the past six months we have consulted widely with judges, academics, representatives of the Bar Council and the Law Society, various members of the legal profession, and others. Sadiq told us at the outset to be bold in our recommendations. We believe we have obeyed that instruction.
A poor balance
The balance between men and women among our senior judges compares poorly with other countries. In 2012 we ranked fourth worst in Europe. More shamefully still, there is no single black, asian or minority ethnic judge in either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court, 11 out of 12 judges are white men. Only seven out of 38 judges in the Court of Appeal are women.
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