Debating Judicial Appointments in an Age of Diversity

Today there is broad agreement that diversity raises important questions for a legal system and its officials about how to respond to our mutual differences of, amongst other things, gender, race, sexuality and social background. It is recognised that a judiciary should reflect the society that it serves, with the need to secure a more diverse judiciary a goal of the various appointments regimes in the UK and elsewhere. However, there is much less agreement about the full implications of recognising diversity as an important goal of the judicial appointments regime and differences of opinion as to the method, form, timing and motivations for diversity. This collection brings together academics from England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Canada and South Africa plus judges, officials and practitioners to engage with the issue of diversity among the judiciary. Each contributor reflects on a current debate about judicial appointments and analysing ways in which that debate is likely to develop over the next ten years. The topics discussed include: the speed of, and responsibility for, change; ceiling quotas; on ways to enhance appointments to the Supreme Court; inter-generational fairness; and the role of law schools as ‘gatekeepers’ to the judiciary.

Overall, this volume offers a timely reflection on current debates in judicial appointments in an age of diversity and the likely trajectory of future debates. On the tenth anniversary of the creation of the Judicial Appointments Commission in the UK, this collection moves the debates forward, engages in new conversations and sets the agenda for the next decade. As such, it will become an important resource for academics and policy makers in the UK and beyond.

Graham Gee is Professor of Law at the?University of Sheffield, UK.?

Erika Rackley is Professor of Law at the?University of Birmingham, UK.

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