Increasing judicial diversity – JUSTICE report published
Yesterday, law reform organisation JUSTICE launched its latest working party report, Increasing Judicial Diversity: An Update.
Cornerstone Barristers’ Ruchi Parekh was a member of the working party and has been involved in the project since 2016.
The Working Party has found that despite the clear case for increased judicial diversity, progress has remained slow. Although there have been some welcome headline achievements – including two more women Justices appointed to the Supreme Court, the appointment of four more solicitors to the High Court and the appointment of Sir Rabinder Singh to the Court of Appeal – most appointments to the senior courts have continued much as before. The data demonstrates that there has been a negligible improvement in respect of other underrepresented groups.
The Working Party welcomes the adoption of some of its minor 2017 recommendations and ongoing efforts by the Judicial Appointments Commission. The Update concludes that the current approach to judicial diversity is not working. It urges large scale structural and cultural change to deliver a more diverse judiciary.
To find out more about the Working Group’s recommendations, you can read the JUSTICE press release here as well as media coverage here.
