Page 67 - Judicial Diversity Update report

III. PATHWAYS TO THE JUDICIARY

3.1. For the overwhelming majority of senior judges, the judiciary remains a second
career following successful practice as a Silk at the independent Bar. Since
1972, JUSTICE has been proposing the establishment of other routes into
senior judicial office, where judges can begin their judicial career in the
tribunals or as a District Judge, being promoted through judicial roles of
increasing seniority into the High Court and beyond. This was a key
recommendation of our 2017 report.

3.2. As demonstrated above, the courts and tribunals overall are significantly more
diverse than the senior courts. Solicitor judges sit mostly in entry-level
positions of District Judge and in the First Tier Tribunal; there are also more
women and BAME judges in these lower positions. The judiciary itself
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could, and should, be serving as a major pool for senior appointments.

3.3. This would require a cultural change within the judiciary, and an adjustment of
mindset among those appointing senior judges. We are encouraged that the
judicial leadership is keen to explore judicial career paths and are pleased to
note that the Judicial College has also committed to supporting activities around
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flexible career paths for judges.

3.4. To understand the current routes into the judiciary and to gauge the extent of
an internal career path, JUSTICE has tracked the routes to the Circuit bench
and High Court over 2017-2019.

Route to the Circuit bench 2017-2019

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3.5. There were 163 Circuit judges appointed over this time. On average, judges
were nearly 52 years old when appointed; the youngest at 37, the oldest at 66.

149 Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Judicial Diversity Statistics 2019, available online at
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Judicial-Diversity-Statistics-2019.pdf
150 Judicial College, ‘Strategy of the Judicial College: 2018-2020’, p.4 available online at
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/judicial-college-strategy-2018-2020.pdf
151 Judicial Appointments Commission, ‘Judicial Selection and Recommendations for Appointment:
Official Statistics, 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018’, June 2018, available online at
https://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/sites/default/files/sync/about_the_jac/official_statistics/statis
tics-bulletin-jac-2017-18.pdf; Judicial Appointments Commission, ‘Judicial Selection and
Recommendations for Appointment: Official Statistics, 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019’, June 2019,
available online at
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