Comment : The Judges' Council
(April 2006)
Robert Carnwath, Senior President designate of Tribunals, talks about the Judges' Council and the role of tribunal members, in light of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
I would like to take the opportunity to tell you a little about the Judges' Council, its history and functions and the role of tribunals members within the Council.
The Judges' Council was set up under the Judicature Act 1873 to consider the operation of that Act and the working arrangements of the judges and the courts. It was chaired by the Lord Chancellor and all the Judges of the Supreme Court were members. The Council continued to function until 1981 when the Supreme Courts Act failed to re-enact it.
In 1988, following serious academic debate, the then Lord Chief Justice, Lord Lane, set up a new Judges' Council. This Council was chaired by the Lord Chief Justice and had a smaller membership of the more senior judges. Its aims were to preserve judicial independence and to promote co-operation between the judiciary and the Executive.
The Council adopted a written constitution in 2002 and widened its membership to include representatives from the House of Lords, the Circuit and District Benches. Its objectives included preserving the independence of the judiciary, advising the Lord Chief Justice on the views of the judiciary, protecting and promoting the due administration of justice and co-ordinating the views and actions of the judges to those ends.
From June 2003, the Council was heavily involved with the negotiations between the Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor and in the resultant Concordat. It produced a Response to the Consultation papers issued by the DCA on constitutional reform and set up a Working party to comment on the proposals in the Constitutional Reform Bill. This Working Party continues to sit and to deal with implementation of the Act. Mark Rowland, a Social Security and Child Support Commissioner, is a member of this Working Group looking into the Regulations relating to judicial complaints and tribunals.
In January 2004 the Council raised the question of tribunal membership. It concluded that tribunals were substantial providers of justice and that a representative should be included on the Council to help to maintain tribunal standards and ensure that tribunals were recognised for their contribution to justice.
The Council invited one of its members, Lord Justice Brooke, to raise the matter at a meeting with the Presidents of some of the larger tribunals and to consider how the representative was to be selected. The Presidents were in favour of having a representative and agreed that initially it would be appropriate to nominate a representative President for one year at a time. Judge Michael Harris, the President of the Appeals Service, was nominated and he agreed to serve until Easter 2005 and to represent the Tribunal judiciary generally. Judge Harris has also served on the Executive Committee. By Easter 2005 I had been appointed as Senior President of Tribunals and had also been invited to join the Council. I agreed to do so and at my suggestion Judge Harris has continued to serve to ensure continuity.
In March 2006 the Council further revised its constitution and membership following the recommendations made in a Report of a Working Group set up by the Judges' Council in July 2005. Judge Harris was a member of that Working Group. This Working Group was set up to consider the changed role of the Council as a result of the coming into effect of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the increased responsibilities of the Lord Chief Justice.
The new constitution states that there shall be three tribunal members. Judge Michael Harris has recently met with members of Tribunals Associations with a view to working out who will represent Tribunals under the new constitution and how they will be selected. While this is being discussed and worked out Judge Harris and I will continue to serve the interests of all tribunal members.
The primary function of the present Judges' Council is to be a body broadly representative of the judiciary as a whole, which will inform and advise the Lord Chief Justice on matters as requested, from time to time. These include maintaining judicial independence, maintaining and developing a Judicial Code of Conduct, developing general policy for the welfare and guidance of the judiciary, including policy on career development and diversity, and liaison with the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Judicial Studies Board. A full text of the new functions can be obtained from the new Judicial website or from the secretary via email.
Under the terms of the Concordat, the Judges' Council is assigned the function of meeting with the Chief Executive of HMCS to provide judicial input on resources and has already held three such meetings. The Council also has a statutory function to select three judicial members of the Judicial Appointments Commission.
The Council meets at least six times a year and is chaired by the Lord Chief Justice. The Executive Committee meets monthly. With the exception of the Senior Presiding Judge, the other 16 members are all to be selected by the Judicial Group or constituency which that member represents. Detailed work is carried out through standing committees and working groups.
The Council is supported by its own independent Secretariat, publishes regular Newsletters to the judiciary and will shortly publish its first Annual Report.
If tribunal members have views as to how best the diverse interests of tribunals should be represented on the Council, or any concerns that they would like to bring to the attention of the Council I would be interested to hear them. Please contact my assistant Jane Smeaton via email or telephone 020 7340 6576.