01 June 2012

Chartered Legal Executives will help create a more diverse judiciary

Baroness Neuberger has spoken of how Chartered Legal Executives will continue to play a significant part in the future of a diverse judiciary in England and Wales.

Speaking at the Annual Presidential Lunch, hosted by The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx), yesterday (31 May 2012), Baroness Neuberger said she was “absolutely delighted with all the work CILEx is doing with the judiciary, legal apprenticeships and legal sector diversity.”

Baroness Neuberger also called for a culture change in how judges are chosen, emphasising that “the judiciary must become more reflective of the people it serves.” She added: “We need a culture change, where people (future judges) are judged on their skill, and by that I mean not just their intelligence, but also their ability to manage a courtroom, rather than being judged by their background.”

At present, the posts open to Chartered Legal Executives are:

• District Judge; District Judge (Magistrates Courts)
• Deputy District Judge; Deputy District Judge (Magistrates Courts)
• Road User Charging Adjudicator
• Legally qualified member of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal
• Member of Panel of Chairmen of the Employment Tribunal;
• Judge of the First Tier Tribunal; and
• Adjudicators (regulation 17 Civil Enforcement of Parking Conventions).

Concluding her speech Baroness Neuberger pointed out that there was much more that those in the legal sector could do to help diversify the judiciary, stating: “We must all as lawyers encourage our colleagues, whatever their background, to go for judicial positions.”

ENDS