Judicial diversity in the spotlight

The annual diversity statistics, published by the Judicial Diversity Forum last week, showed marginal increases in representation for Asian and mixed ethnicity individuals.

However, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) highlighted that ‘the representation of black and other ethnic minorities in the judiciary has remained the same over the past ten years’.

Baroness Carr said: ‘We do not have enough black judges, and that's a priority for me to look at this year, and also actually disabled judges.’

Sam Townend KC, Chair of the Bar Council, said ‘ethnic minority candidates continue to be more likely to apply and less likely to be recommended and this warrants further investigation by the JAC’.