A panel reporting on judicial diversity has rejected diversity quotas and targets for judicial appointments.
Instead, there should be a “fundamental shift in approach” towards diversity at all stages of a judicial career.
The final report of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity, chaired by Baroness Neuberger, makes 53 recommendations, including increased mentoring for judicial applicants, a campaign of “myth-busting” about the reality of becoming a judge, and the evolution of the Judicial Studies Board into a Judicial College to provide training for prospective judicial applicants.
There should be more judicial job shadowing, and law firms should encourage part-time service, the report says. Flexible working opportunities should be assumed for all judicial posts, with exceptions needing to be justified.
Judges should engage with schools and colleges to encourage students from under-represented groups, and the legal profession should actively promote judicial office among those currently not coming forward.
Desmond Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, said: “We are particularly interested in the establishment of a clearer judicial path and are committed to ensure that there is a diverse pool of highly qualified solicitor candidates for each appointment, and the number of solicitor judges appointed increases.
“The Society has been very clear, the solicitor’s profession should reflect the diversity of the community it serves and from which it is drawn. The same applies to the judiciary.”
