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25 November 2016 / Adrian Jack
Issue: 7724 / Categories: Opinion , Profession
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Change for the worse

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Adrian Jack rejects the government’s recent proposals for judicial reform

The Ministry of Justice is consulting on wide-ranging changes to the judiciary’s career paths and terms and conditions. The changes are largely negative for the judiciary and will further damage judicial morale.

The judicial career

The Neuberger Panel on Judicial Diversity back in 2010 recommended that efforts to promote diversity should concentrate on promoting a “judicial career”. The Commission never gave any examples of what a realistic career might be save that it “should be able to span roles in the courts and tribunals as one unified judiciary”. It recommended that fee-paid judges’ terms of office should end after three renewals (15 years). There was a consultation on the Neuberger recommendations and the proposal for limiting the length of holding office was rejected by the government. It would have led to too great a loss of experienced judges.

The latest consultation does not give examples of what a judicial career might look like either. Its particular proposal is that fee-paid judges should serve only

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