The 2012 Queen’s Speech announced plans to reform the courts and tribunals service to increase efficiency, transparency and judicial diversity. These are included in the Crime and Courts Bill 2012 introduced in the House of Lords at its first reading stage (formal introduction) on 10 May 2012.
The Bill includes a number of measures targeted at improving the diversity of the judiciary. These include
- Greater opportunities for flexible working, through the introduction of part-time appointments for all courts including the Supreme Court
- Enabling diversity considerations to be taken into account by the selecting body where two applicants are of equal merit through the use of so-called ‘tipping-point’ mechanisms (under s159 of the Equality Act 2010)
The Bill also includes provisions detailing alternations to selection panels, most notably allowing the Lord Chancellor to sit as one of the non-legally qualified members of the selection panel appointing the President of the Supreme Court. You can follow the progress of the Bill on the UK parliament website.