Page 23 - Judicial Diversity Update report

than men. They were also appointed faster than men, when examining the
number of years elapsed from their previous appointment to appointment to
the High Court.

Fee paid roles – Recorder and s. 9(4) Deputy High Court Judge

2.9. As set out in the next Chapter, the most common route onto the Circuit bench
and High Court is through fee-paid roles as a Recorder or as a Deputy High
Court Judge, respectively. If the senior judiciary of the future is to be diverse,
it is important that appointments to these feeder roles are also diverse. In the
sitting cohort 21% of Recorders and 25% of Deputy High Court Judges are
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women.

2.10. In recent years, particular store has been put on the appointment of more
diverse Deputies via s. 9(4) of the Senior Courts Act 1981. Section 9(4) is open
to candidates without prior sitting experience and is explicitly intended to be a
route for more diverse candidates to enter the judiciary. Since 2016 s.9(4)
Deputies have been appointed for a single four-year fixed term, with the
expectation that an application for a salaried appointment would be made
during this time. As noted below, many of the most recent High Court
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appointments have been via this route. However, the gender make-up of
recent s.9(4) appointments is less than encouraging. In 2018, 32 appointments
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were made under s.9(4), only 9 of whom (28%) were women. In the most

39 See Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, ‘Judicial Diversity Statistics 2019’, July 2019, available online
at https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Judicial-Diversity-Statistics-2019.pdf
40 Deputy High Court Judges can also be appointed via s. 9(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981.
Authorisation to sit under s. 9(1) is limited to serving judges, namely Circuit judges; Recorders; or
tribunal judges who are (a) Chamber President, or a Deputy Chamber President, of a chamber of the
Upper Tribunal or of a chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, (b) judge of the Upper Tribunal by virtue of
appointment under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 3 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
(TCEA), (c) transferred-in judge of the Upper Tribunal (see Section 31(2) of the TCEA), (d) deputy
judge of the Upper Tribunal (whether under paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to, or Section 31(2) of, the
TCEA), or (e) President of Employment Tribunals (England and Wales) or the President of Employment
Tribunals (Scotland). First Tier Tribunal Judges can only be appointed under section 9(1) if they are a
Chamber President or Deputy Chamber President.
41 58 women applied for the position, see: Judicial Selection and Recommendations for Appointment
Statistics, England and Wales, 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019, Table 4 (Deputy High Court Judge)
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