The Judiciary
Constitutional role
- The judiciary provides some checks & balances on other organs of government
Judges & their courts
- Many judicial appointments can be held part time
- Relatively fixed nature of progression through the judicial appointment’s hierarchy
Who can be a judge
- The courts & legal services act 1990
- Barristers
o Eligible for all appointments
- Solicitors
o Must be solicitor advocates with rights of audience
Qualities required by judges
- ‘Good sound judgement based upon knowledge of the law, a willingness to study all
sides of an argument with an acceptable degree of openness, & an ability to reach a
firm conclusion & to articulate clearly the reasons for the conclusion’
o Lord mackay
Appointments of judges – pre-2005
- The lord chancellor had a key role in all judicial appointments
o He wasn’t accountable to parliament
- Unstructured system reliant on unspecified advisers
Appointment of judges – cra 2005
- Constitutional reform act establishes judicial appointment commission to have a
significant role in appointing judges
- JAC has responsibility for selecting judges for appointment
o Following selection, JAC makes recommendations to LC
- LC may appoint or reject & invite JAC to reconsider
- If JAC adheres to original appointment, that candidate must be appointed
Appointment of senior level judges
- Judicial appointment at senior level lords’ justices of appeal & above will still be
made by the queen on advice of the prime minister
o PM having consulted with LC following recommendation by JAC
- Special procedures for appointment of members of new supreme court & for
appointment to other high judicial office
Effect of cra on appointment
- Power of appointment still rests with the LC but how power is exercised is now
restricted by the mechanisms created by the cra
- All candidates for judicial office are now required by statute to be ‘of good character’
& all appointments are made ‘on merit’
Judicial appointment commission
- Lay members are in the minority, through chair of JAC must be a lay member
o Never held judicial office’ been an employment tribunal member; practised/
employed as a lawyer
- Cra also provides for judicial appointments & conduct ombudsman to whom
unsuccessful/ disgruntled applicants for judicial office can apply for a consideration
of their case
Constitutional role
- The judiciary provides some checks & balances on other organs of government
Judges & their courts
- Many judicial appointments can be held part time
- Relatively fixed nature of progression through the judicial appointment’s hierarchy
Who can be a judge
- The courts & legal services act 1990
- Barristers
o Eligible for all appointments
- Solicitors
o Must be solicitor advocates with rights of audience
Qualities required by judges
- ‘Good sound judgement based upon knowledge of the law, a willingness to study all
sides of an argument with an acceptable degree of openness, & an ability to reach a
firm conclusion & to articulate clearly the reasons for the conclusion’
o Lord mackay
Appointments of judges – pre-2005
- The lord chancellor had a key role in all judicial appointments
o He wasn’t accountable to parliament
- Unstructured system reliant on unspecified advisers
Appointment of judges – cra 2005
- Constitutional reform act establishes judicial appointment commission to have a
significant role in appointing judges
- JAC has responsibility for selecting judges for appointment
o Following selection, JAC makes recommendations to LC
- LC may appoint or reject & invite JAC to reconsider
- If JAC adheres to original appointment, that candidate must be appointed
Appointment of senior level judges
- Judicial appointment at senior level lords’ justices of appeal & above will still be
made by the queen on advice of the prime minister
o PM having consulted with LC following recommendation by JAC
- Special procedures for appointment of members of new supreme court & for
appointment to other high judicial office
Effect of cra on appointment
- Power of appointment still rests with the LC but how power is exercised is now
restricted by the mechanisms created by the cra
- All candidates for judicial office are now required by statute to be ‘of good character’
& all appointments are made ‘on merit’
Judicial appointment commission
- Lay members are in the minority, through chair of JAC must be a lay member
o Never held judicial office’ been an employment tribunal member; practised/
employed as a lawyer
- Cra also provides for judicial appointments & conduct ombudsman to whom
unsuccessful/ disgruntled applicants for judicial office can apply for a consideration
of their case
