Page 64 - When Things Go Wrong

Public inquiries: laying the foundations

Appointment of inquiry chairs

4.6 Appointment of inquiry chairs is governed by Section 4 of the Inquiries Act
2005 (“the 2005 Act”), which stipulates that each member of an inquiry panel
is to be appointed by the relevant Minister by an instrument in writing. While
judicial appointments were reformed through the Constitutional Reform Act
2005 and the creation of the Judicial Appointments Commission, the 2005 Act
effectively results in the “tap on the shoulder” system of appointment for
inquiry chairs.

4.7 Indeed, despite the manifest seriousness of events that cause or are capable of
causing “public concern”, 172 the only requirement for consultation is in relation
to serving members of the judiciary. 173 The Act stipulates that inquiry
panellists must be impartial; 174 but there are no further criteria against which
appointments should be made.

4.8 The Cabinet Office ‘Inquiries Guidance’ suggests:

The Minister may seek advice from professional, regulatory or other
bodies in the appropriate field. The impartiality of the Chair should be
beyond doubt … Depending on the circumstance, the Chair and panel
may need to be legally qualified or have expert professional knowledge.
Thinking through what type of Chair is required is critical. In some cases,
but by no means always, this could be a judge or a senior barrister. Other
types of chair to consider include someone with experience in the field.
For some inquiries individuals with experience of running or working in
large organisations may be more suitable. 175

172 Ibid, s. 1.
173 Ibid, s. 10(1), which is with the respective senior judge listed.

174 Ibid, s. 9.

175 Cabinet Office Proprietary and Ethics Team, supra note 7, p. 3.
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