Page 70 - Judicial Diversity Update report

nine were authorised to sit under s 9(1) of the same Act. The data therefore
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suggests something of an ‘internal’ career path, with a good number of s.9(1)
Deputies appointed to the High Court in recent years. To pursue this route –
which involves a JAC exercise – candidates need to be already sitting as a judge
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in one of a number of fee-paid or salaried judicial positions. Unfortunately,
the outcomes and details of s.9(1) exercises are not made public so we have
been unable to analyse the demographics of the sitting cohort nor the success
rates of different applicant groups. This seems like a lost opportunity.

3.17. We note that for the most recent High Court exercise, the previous
application process was replaced by application through a letter and CV. This
was introduced in response to low levels of engagement from the Bar in the
2018-2019 round, which saw only 52 applications for 25 vacancies. While the
final cohort of appointees has yet to be announced, we do know that there were
68 applications, suggesting a more attractive process for those applying.
Whether this will result in a more diverse group of appointees remains to be
seen. However, all evidence points to formal application forms being
considerably more likely to result in diverse appointments than a CV and
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covering letter. It is important that efforts to encourage and ease the burden
of application for candidates do not adversely impact on the diversity of those
ultimately appointed. The impact of this change must be monitored.

The de facto judicial career path; a new path?

3.18. We are heartened that there appears to be appetite from the senior judiciary
and the JAC in exploring how an internal career path might work, though we
appreciate that it is not straightforward. Given the existing demographics, it is
important to recognise that an internal career path would likely serve to

153 Authorisation to sit as a Deputy High Court judge under s. 9(1) is restricted to Circuit judges;
Recorders; and 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). For First Tier Tribunal Judges to be appointed under
s. 9(1) they must be a Chamber President or Deputy Chamber President.
154 See note 153 above for a list of gateway positions.
155 See for example, ‘Inclusive Recruitment: Optimise your Candidate Pool’, Include-Empower.com,
https://cultureplusconsulting.com/2019/06/11/inclusive-recruitment/
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