Lord Chief Justice won't be waiting half a century to see a more diverse judiciary

The judiciary must appoint the best lawyers regardless of race, gender, social background, or previous legal career, the Lord Chief Justice has declared.

Speaking at the Temple Women's Forum in Leeds, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said a diverse judiciary could be swiftly realised through the 'vigorous pursuit of a variety of initiatives' but only as long as the appointments system operated on a level playing field.

In what will be seen as a rebuke to Lord Sumption's recently controversial comments, Lord Tomas Thomas remarked: 'The judiciary must be truly open to everyone of the requisite ability. I simply do not accept that this is an issue where we should be content to sit back and just wait for things to happen.'

'Whatever views there are on the extent of judicial activism in developing the law, robust judicial activism is entirely right in building a diverse judiciary.'

Lord Thomas commented that diversity was inherent in justice itself because it represented both fairness and equality of opportunity.

'Unless we embrace the whole of our society, we do not recruit all the potential judges who ought to be appointed and who will bring to the work of a judge their skills and their expertise,' he added.

'We simply did not attract enough women and we did not attract enough people from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities [BAME],' admitted Lord Thomas. 'We are changing that through our aim that everyone should have a fair and proper opportunity to apply.'

While explaining that the Judicial Appointments Commission selects judges solely on merit and irrespective of background, the head of the judiciary said that 'merit and improved diversity are entirely compatible'.

'We need to do more to ensure there is a level playing field and every applicant has the same fair opportunity when applying for judicial appointment to show that he or she has the potential to be an excellent judge.'

Recognising the strides already taken to make the judiciary more diverse over the last decade - such as an increase in female judges in the High Court and Court of Appeal - Lord Thomas said that 'much more not only needs to be done, but it can be done' to increase the number of women and BAMEs in the judiciary.

The president of the Courts of England and Wales added that while it was important to widen the pool of applicants, the goal of a more diverse judiciary would not be realised unless those who apply compete on a level playing field.

'There are many extremely able women and BAME practitioners at the Bar. They are achieving real success in their profession, which is regarded as the traditional route to the judiciary, and I would warmly welcome their appointment, particularly to the senior judiciary, in the very near future.

'However the numbers reaching the top of the professions, and the numbers seeking to become judges, are not enough. We simply cannot let that stand in the way of a diverse judiciary or let it be used as an excuse.'

Lord Thomas added that for the judiciary to continue making progress it must be 'tenacious' in examining the system it uses and be alert to 'concerns about unconscious bias'.

Concluding his address, he said he wanted to hear from the rank and file of the legal profession, as well as its leaders, to create a more diverse judiciary without diluting the 'very high quality demonstrated by our existing judges'.

John van der Luit-Drummond is deputy editor for Solicitors Journal
john.vanderluit@solicitorsjournal.co.uk | @JvdLD