The report, ‘Increasing judicial diversity: an update’, builds on its 2017 report of the same name, which explored the structural barriers faced by women, Black and minority ethnic lawyers, solicitors and those from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds, in reaching the bench.
Legal rights group JUSTICE notes some headline achievements―two more women Justices at the Supreme Court, four more solicitors appointed to the High Court, and Sir Rabinder Singh’s appointment to the Court of Appeal. More women have been appointed to the Circuit and High Court bench. However, the low numbers overall mean any progress is fragile and there has been negligible improvement in respect of other underrepresented groups, the report says.
The working party concludes that the current approach to judicial diversity ‘is not working’.
It recommends the introduction of ‘targets with teeth’ so there is proper accountability, and the creation of a permanent ‘senior elections committee’ for senior appointments. It urges that a ‘meaningful internal judicial career path’ be set up so judges can begin their career in the more diverse tribunals or as District Judges. Those in leadership positions should commit to a cultural change in the judiciary, where diversity is seen as fundamental to the quality of judging, it says.
Finally, it calls for the selection process to test for judicial potential not previous advocacy experience, and for efforts to be made to tackle affinity bias so that merit is not used as an unconscious proxy for the characteristics of the current cohort of judges.
JUSTICE director Andrea Coomber said: ‘Our senior judiciary continues to be dominated by white men from the independent Bar.’
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