Judges: Public Appointments
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the Judicial Appointments Commission fulfils its statutory duty to (a) appoint solely on merit (b) avoid discrimination in the appointing of judges.
Answered by Sarah Sackman
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is independent from government. It has a statutory duty under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to select candidates solely on merit, to select only people of good character, and to have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for judicial selection.
The JAC is governed by an independent Board of Commissioners, appointed by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. A key objective of the Board is to ensure the JAC is upholding its statutory functions and duties.
The JAC submits annual reports to Parliament about its performance and is also subject to independent reviews. Ministry of Justice officials also meet the JAC Chair and Chief Executive regularly.
The JAC also applies quality assurance checks throughout the selection process to ensure proper procedures are followed and standards are maintained. Further information can be found here: JAC Diversity Update July 2025.
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