Appointments and Diversity 'A Judiciary for the ... - Ministry of Justice

Appointments and Diversity A Judiciary for the 21st Century’
Response to public consultation
Introduction
Background
12. The consultation paper ‘Appointments and Diversity: A Judiciary for the 21st Century’
was published on 21 November 2011 (CP 19/2011). The consultation paper set out
proposals for amending the statutory and regulatory frameworks for judicial
appointments and invited comments. The consultation also requested views on a
number of recommendations that arose from the report of the Advisory Panel on
Judicial Diversity, which the Government has publicly committed to implement.
13. The consultation proposals covered all fee-paid and salaried judicial office holders
(not magistrates) in the courts of England and Wales and various tribunals together
with the UK Supreme Court, and were intended to:
Achieve the proper balance between executive, judicial and independent
responsibilities;
Improve clarity, transparency and openness;
Create a more diverse 2 judiciary that is reflective of society and appointed on
merit; and
Deliver speed and quality of service to applicants, the courts and tribunals and
value for money to the taxpayer.
14. The consultation closed on 13 February 2012. This document summarises the
responses, including outlining the agreed policy that will be taken forward. We have
also updated the Equality Impact Assessment following the consultation, and
completed an Impact Assessment for the policy proposals being taken forward in
legislation. Both of these are published as separate documents with this response.
15. This response paper covers:
A summary of the responses received;
Reports on the responses to specific questions in the initiation document; and
Sets out the conclusions reached and the next steps.
Summary of Responses
16. In total we received 96 responses to our consultation. Responses were received from
a range of organisations and individuals including the judiciary, representative legal
bodies, diversity groups within the professions and beyond and academics. The
following table documents the type of person/organisation who responded to the
consultation.
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Diversity within this consultation covers all of the protected characteristics detailed within the
Equalities Act 2010, namely race, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, age,
marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity.
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