Michael Zander QC questions the value of the government’s consultation on judicial appointments
In principle one is in favour of consultation by government. But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. The Ministry of Justice’s consultation paper, The Governance of Britain: Judicial Appointments, is a case in point.
The new judicial appointments system established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (CRA 2005) became operative as from April 2006. It has therefore been live for a little over a year. There might be sense in enquiring how it was working after 10, perhaps even after five, years. Setting this inquiry in motion at so early a stage is ridiculous.
Nothing in the document establishes that there is any need for it. It raises a variety of issues and ideas for change, many of which were previously considered and rejected. Nor does the text suggest that there is any intention on the part of the government to implement these ideas. One wonders who is the genius who decided this was
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