Gender politics is the hot topic within the judiciary, notes Roger Smith
July is the time for judicial appointments. The new incumbents then take office at the beginning of the legal year. Additionally, the new Director of Public Prosecutions was announced this week. Inevitably, considerations of gender have been in the air.
The Lord Chief Justice
A predictable controversy surrounded the ascendancy of Sir John Thomas to the role of Lord Chief Justice. He beat Lady Justice Hallett, who would have been the first woman to take up the role. Lord Hacking, himself a barrister, wrote to The Times to report that “many in the legal profession and outside…have been dismayed by the process for the selection”. Others have muttered their dissent—or reported the alleged dissent of others—in less prestigious publications.
In reality, the appointment shows up the procedural difficulties in moving the senior judiciary from its largely male composition. Sir John is an experienced and respected judge. He knows his way around the corridors of power: he has been the judiciary’s representative
