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Judicial Appointments Commission

Judicial Appointments Commission

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The Judicial Appointments Commission is responsible for selecting judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

s in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

. It is a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...

 which was created on 3 April 2006 as part of the reforms following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...

. It took over a responsibility previously that of the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

 and the Department for Constitutional Affairs
Department for Constitutional Affairs
The Department for Constitutional Affairs was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003 with the intention of replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department...

 (previously the Lord Chancellor's Department
Lord Chancellor's Department
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....

), although the Lord Chancellor retains responsibility for appointing the selected candidates. The Lord Chancellor has also given up his other judicial functions, including the right to sit as a judge in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

.

The Commission launched its new system to select High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

 judges on 31 October 2006, looking for candidates to fill 10 vacancies and 15 for a reserve list. Candidates submitted a nine-page application form, and shortlisted candidates were interviewed. All candidates were to be judged on merit alone, measured by five core qualities: intellectual capacity; personal qualities (integrity, independence, judgment, decisiveness, objectivity, ability; willingness to learn); ability to understand and deal fairly; authority and communication skills; and efficiency.

Members


The Commission is made up of 15 members: 2 from the legal profession (1 barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

, 1 solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

), 5 judges, 1 tribunal member, 1 lay justice (magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...

), 6 lay people, including the chairman, supported by a staff of over 100. The members of the Commission are:
  • Chairman
    1. Mr Christopher Stephens
  • Professional
    1. Mr Jonathan Sumption
      Jonathan Sumption
      Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, OBE, QC is a UK barrister and medieval historian. On 4 May 2011 it was announced that he had been appointed to the United Kingdom Supreme Court, to be sworn in at a date agreed between him and Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court.He is known for his...

      , OBE
      Order of the British Empire
      The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

      , QC
      Queen's Counsel
      Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

  • Judicial
    1. The Right Honourable
      The Right Honourable
      The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...

       Lord Justice
      Lord Justice of Appeal
      A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...

       Roger Toulson
      Roger Toulson
      Sir Roger Grenfell Toulson QC PC is a British judge and member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. He was educated at Mill Hill School, to which he won the top scholarship for his year and was one of the most talented pupils, taking 'O' levels at 13, 'A' levels in Greek, Latin and Ancient...

       (Vice-Chairman)
    2. The Honourable
      The Honourable
      The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...

       Lady Justice
      Lord Justice of Appeal
      A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...

       Jill Black
      Jill Black
      Dame Jill Margaret Black DBE, PC, QC is a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.Black was educated at the University of Durham, and was called to the Bar in 1976 . She became a Queen's Counsel in 1994 and was appointed a Deputy High Court judge in 1996 and a Recorder in 1998...

      , DBE
      Order of the British Empire
      The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

    3. Her Honour Judge
      Judge
      A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

       Frances Kirkham
      Frances Kirkham
      Frances Margaret Kirkham CBE is a British Judge and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission.Kirkham was educated at King's College London where she obtained a BA degree and an AKC qualification, and became a solicitor in 1978. She is also a Chartered Arbitrator...

    4. District Judge Charles Newman
      Charles Newman (judge)
      Charles William Frank Newman is a British Judge and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission.Newman was admitted as a solicitor in 1972 and appointed Registrar of the County Court in 1987. He has served as Chair of the District Judges IT Working Group. He is currently a member of the Judicial...

    5. Vacant
  • Tribunal
    1. His Honour
      His Honour
      His Honour or Her Honour is an honorific prefix which is traditionally applied to certain classes of people, in particular justices and judges and mayors...

       Judge
      Judge
      A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...

       David Pearl
      David Pearl
      David Stephen Pearl is a British lawyer and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission. He is the son of Rabbi Chaim Pearl....

  • Lay justice
    1. Dame
      Dame (title)
      The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...

       Lorna May Boreland-Kelly
      Lorna May Boreland-Kelly
      Dame Lorna May Boreland-Kelly, DBE, JP, FRSA is a lay magistrate and member of the Judicial Appointments Commission.Lorna Boreland-Kelly has been presiding lay magistrate at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court since 1991. She was appointed as Member, Judicial Appointments Commission in...

      , DBE
      Order of the British Empire
      The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

      , JP
      Justice of the Peace
      A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

      , FRSA
      Royal Society of Arts
      The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...

  • Lay
    1. Professor
      Professor
      A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

       Dame
      Dame (title)
      The title of Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood in the British honours system . It is also the equivalent form address to 'Sir' for a knight...

        Hazel Genn
      Hazel Genn
      Dame Hazel Gillian Genn, DBE, QC , FBA is a leading authority on civil justice whose work has had a major influence on policy-makers around the world, and is currently Dean of the Faculty of Laws, Professor of Socio-Legal Studies at University College London.- Public service :Professor Genn is a...

      , DBE, professor of law at University College London
      University College London
      University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...

    2. Sir
      Sir
      Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...

       Geoffrey Inkin
      Geoffrey Inkin
      Sir Geoffrey David Inkin, OBE is a former commander of the Royal Welch Fusiliers who is a lay member of the Judicial Appointments Commission since January 2006....

      , OBE
      Order of the British Empire
      The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

    3. Ms Sara Nathan, OBE
      Order of the British Empire
      The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

    4. Mr Francis Plowden
      Francis Plowden
      Francis John Plowden is a lay member of the Judicial Appointments Commission.Plowden is Chairman of the Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College and Chairman of the National Council for Palliative Care. He was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers until 2001, where he was responsible for...

    5. Ms Harriet Spicer
      Harriet Spicer
      Harriet Greville Spicer is a lay member of the Judicial Appointments Commission. She was born on 24 April 1950 to James Spicer, the then owner of Spicer's Paper and Patricia Palmer. She lived in Chelsea before attending Lillsden School for Girls and then Benenden School. In 1968 she spent some time...


Related bodies


The Judicial Appointments Commission is separate from the Commission for Judicial Appointments (CJA). The CJA was established in March 2001 to review the procedures for the appointment of judges and QCs, and to investigate complaints into those procedures. It closed on 31 March 2006 with the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman (JACO). A separate Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland
The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland is public body responsible for making recommendations on appointments to judicial offices in Scotland...

 and Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission undertake similar functions for Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, respectively.

External links