Debating judicial appointments in an age of diversity / Graham Gee and Erika Rackley.

Abingdon, Oxfordshire : Routledge, 2018.

1st edition

87985

Judges -- Selection and appointment.

1. Introduction: diversity and the JAC's first ten years / Graham Gee and Erika Rackley

2. The JAC's first ten years/ Christopher Stephens CBE

Reflection / Sir Thomas Legg KCB

3. Power and judicial appointment: squaring the impossible circle / Alan Paterson OBE

4. Opening up Commonwealth judicial appointments to diversity? The growing role of Commissions in judicial selection / Jan van Zyl Smit

5. The judicial service commission: lessons from South Africa / Cora Hoexter

6. Diversity without a judicial appointments commission - the Australian experience / Andrew Lynch

7. Diversity, transparency and inclusion in Canada's judiciary / Samreen Beg and Lorne Sossin

Reflection / Frances Kirkham CBE

Reflection / Noel Lloyd CBE

8. Judging the JAC: how much judicial influence over judicial appointments is too much? / Graham Gee

9. Judicial diversity and mandatory retirement: obstacle or route to diversity? / Alysia Blackham

Reflection / Karon Monaghan

10. Judicial diversity: complexity, continuity and change / Hilary Sommerlad

11. Beyond merit: the new challenge for judicial appointments / John Morison

12. Problems of scale in achieving judicial diversity / Rosemary hunter

Reflection / Cordella Bart Stewart

13. The disruptive potential of ceiling quotas in addressing over-representation in the judiciary / Kate Malleson

14. Three models of diversity / Erika Rackley and Charlie Webb

Reflection / Jenny Rowe CB

15. Appointments to the Supreme Court / Lady Hale DBE

Appendix i: The JAC's selection exercise activity (2006-2016)

Appendix ii: Key officeholders during the JAC's first decade

Appendix iii: Outline of JAC selection processes

Appendix iv: About the cover image.

What should be the primary goals of a judicial appointments system, and how much weight should be placed on diversity in particular? Why is achieving a diverse judiciary across the UK taking so long? Is it time for positive action? What role should the current judiciary play in the appointment of our future judges? There is broad agreement within the UK and other common law countries that diversity raises important questions for a legal system and its officials, but much less agreement about the full implications of recognising diversity as an important goal of the judicial appointments regime. Opinions differ, for example, on the methods, forms, timing and motivations for judicial diversity. To mark the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) in England and Wales, this collection includes contributions from current and retired judges, civil servants, practitioners, current and former commissioners on the JAC and leading academics from Australia, Canada, South Africa and across the UK. Together they provide timely and authoritative insights into past, current and future debates on the search for diversity in judicial appointments. Topics discussed include the role and responsibility of independent appointment bodies; assessments of the JAC's first ten years; appointments to the UK Supreme Court; the pace of change; definitions of 'merit' and 'diversity'; mandatory retirement ages; the use of ceiling quotas; and the appropriate role of judges and politicians in the appointments process. - Publisher's website.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781138225350

x, 332 p. ; 25 cm