Page 77 - Judicial Diversity Update report

ii. Applying it only where the qualifying test was comfortably 'passed', e.g.
the candidate's score was higher than the lowest quartile of scores above
the 'pass mark'.

Outreach to new candidate pools and mentoring

4.6. The Working Party is impressed by the renewed public outreach efforts by both
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the Judicial Office and the JAC. Building on the earlier Diversity Support
Initiative, relevant developments include the Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme,
High Court and Deputy High Court support programmes, pre-application
seminars for first time applicants and judges seeking promotion and a number
of roundtables of senior judges with under-represented groups. The new Judicial
Mentoring Scheme is aimed at certain underrepresented groups in the judiciary
(women, BAME candidates and those who attended a non-fee-paying
school/were the first in their family to attend university) and includes pre
application workshops for participants. We have been pleased by efforts to
provide sponsorship and mentoring of judges in the lower-ranks of the judiciary.

4.7. The initiative in which most store is placed is the Pre Application Judicial
Education Programme (PAJE), which is a joint initiative of the JAC and the
Ministry of Justice led by the Judicial Diversity Forum. It offers promise in
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familiarising potential candidates from under-represented groups with the
realities of life on the bench and providing guidance on the challenges presented
in the application process. 163

4.8. We recognise the value and ongoing work of the Diversity and Community
Relations (DCR) Judges, who increase public awareness of the judiciary through

161 All information in this section can be found in the Judicial Diversity Committee of the Judges’
Council ‘Report on Progress April 2017 – March 2018; Action Plan April 2018 – March 2019’
(published June 2018) available online at https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2018/06/judicial-diversity-committee-of-the-judges-council-annual-report-2018.pdf,
unless otherwise stated.
162 ‘Pre-Application Judicial Education Programme (PAJE)’ Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, available
online at https://www.judiciary.uk/about-the-judiciary/who-are-the-judiciary/diversity/pre-application-
judicial-education-programme-paje/
163 Whilst we are unable to evaluate the impact of PAJE at this stage (e.g. on the number of applicants
from the total participants of PAJE) we are hopeful that it would have a positive effect on application,
and more importantly – success rates – of applicants from prioritised groups.
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