evaluation of the judiciary

Question 1

advantage of the judiciary - diversity

Answer 1

• Diversity is slowly increasing in the judiciary
• Judicial Appointments Commission has improved this significantly as system is now transparent and not secretive
• At lower levels, only 1 out of 6 District Judges interviewed had been to Oxford/Cambridge - Penny Darbyshire (2007) – also said that “it would surely be a matter of concern if senior judges were not highly educated and exceptionally intelligent”

Question 2

disadvatange of the judiciary - still a lack of diversity

Answer 2

• Dominated by elderly, white upper class males. Huge lack of diversity.
• 2016 – 8 women in Court of Appeal, 23 in the High Court, 25% are Circuit Judges, 30% are District Judges
• 2016 – three BME High Court Judges and 17 circuit judges, 8% District Judges and NO BME judges in COA or Supreme Court.
• Penny Darbyshire (2007) – 8 out of 10 CoA/HOL judges she interviewed had been privately educated

counter-argument to diversity

Question 3

advantage of the judiciary - independence

Answer 3

• The judiciary is independent of the state and politicians. this is an advantage as they are therefore immune from pressure to impress voters etc.
• They can also hold the government to account through judicial review e.g. HS2 compensation scheme/ burkas

counter-argument to lack of transparency and accountability

Question 4

disadvantage of the judiciary - lack of transparency and accountability

Answer 4

There is a lack of transparency and accountability particularly around appointments and disciplinary matters

Judges often get in trouble for what they say e.g A (Children) [2015] - language of the judge was severely criticised.

counter-argument to independence

Question 5

advantage of the judiciary - expertise

Answer 5

• Judges are legal professionals – you have to have been a solicitor or barrister for many years before becoming a judge.
• this means they are much quicker and more efficient than lay people as they understand the court process and have sat in the roles of the people before them – this should ensure they are better at their job adn the law is applied effectively

Question 6

disadvantage of the judiciary - route to becoming a judge

Answer 6

• Some debate about whether this is the best way to do it as some countries have a career judiciary instead where people train to be judges from the get go rather than being a legal professional first – this has advantages such as longer specific training
• The role of a solicitor/barrister is very different to a judge.

counter-argument to legal professionals