Page 14 - Judicial Diversity Update report

Summary of 2017 Report

1.15. Despite the clear case for increased judicial diversity, progress has remained
slow. In our original report we explored the structural barriers faced by women,
visible BAME people and those from less advantaged socio-economic
backgrounds in reaching the bench. The report called for systemic changes to
increase accountability and improve recruitment processes and proposed more
inclusive routes to the senior bench. However the key recommendations have
yet to be implemented. We continue to stand by the findings of the original
report and urge the adoption of its recommendations, in order to ensure that
real progress is made.

1.16. The key findings and recommendations of that report were as follows:

• given that diversity improves the quality of decision making and
legitimacy of the judiciary, the ability to contribute to a diverse
judiciary should be taken into account in the assessment of ‘merit’;
• a fragmented, uncoordinated approach to judicial appointments has led to
a series of non-diverse appointments and “buck passing”. The Working
Party therefore proposed a new model of accountability centred on creating
a permanent ‘Senior Selections Committee’ dedicated to senior
appointments and introducing ‘targets with teeth’, i.e. publicly stated
targets for selection bodies, with monitoring and reporting on progress to
the Justice Select Committee;

• selectors are influenced by stereotypes and preconceptions when assessing
what the best applicants ‘should’ look, sound and act like; there is an
unacknowledged preference to recruit people like oneself. To proactively
appoint more diversely, the Working Party recommended introducing
‘appointable pools’ – the creation of a pool of individuals deemed to have
met the high standard of appointability for a particular court. Candidates
would then be selected from the pool to fill vacancies when they arose,
with candidates from under-represented groups being given priority; and

• diversity in the judiciary will not be improved if diverse candidates do not
apply for judicial office. The Working Party therefore proposed specific

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