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Importance Of Judicial Diversity

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Quoting the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity“…there is no quick fix to moving towards a more diverse judiciary. We will achieve significant transformation only if diversity is addressed systematically – not only within the appointments process, but throughout a legal and judicial career. Delivering a more diverse judiciary is not just about recruiting talent wherever it may be found, important though that is, but about retaining talent and enabling capable individuals to reach the top”. Why do we need judicial diversity in the first place? The main reason would be that judicial diversity is an essential requirement of democracy. A judiciary should represent the diversity of society as well as the diversity of the legal …show more content…

There is a near absence of women judges as well as Black, Asian, and minority ethnic judges in the senior judiciary - this subverts the statement of diversity being a requirement of democracy as it denies a fair and equal trial to all eligible members of society. To be a little more exact, currently, only eight out of the thirty eight judges in the Court of Appeal are women. Only 5.1% of judges are of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME). Many developments are currently being tried in practice to increase judicial diversity. The Judicial Diversity Taskforce comprising of the Ministry of Justice, senior members of the Judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), the Bar Council, the Law Society and The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, has been set up to try and produce a more diverse judiciary. The Diversity and Community Relations Judges (DCRJs) create and maintain links with local communities and schools to increase knowledge of the justice system, as well as to encourage young people to consider a judicial career. With all developments and efforts made towards judicial diversity, one might wonder why its progression is at a very slow rate. This is because of a notion that under-represented groups are less worthy candidates and that judicial diversity would subvert the quality of …show more content…

The Panel recommended that there should be open and transparent selection processes at all levels; the requirement for candidates for judicial office to be able to demonstrate experience of diversity in either their private or professional lives; and many more. The Committee recommended that the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice ought to encourage diversity amongst the judiciary; opportunities for flexible working and career breaks within the judiciary ought to be made more widely available to encourage women and others with caring responsibilities; and so

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