Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002

Appointment and removalU.K.

2 IntroductoryN.I.

(1)Sections 3 to 8 make provision about appointment to and removal from—

(a)the offices of Lord Chief Justice and Lord Justice of Appeal, and

(b)the offices listed in Schedule 1.

(2)The [F1Lord Chancellor] may by order amend Schedule 1 by—

(a)adding an office (other than the office of Lord Chief Justice or Lord Justice of Appeal),

(b)omitting an office, or

(c)altering the description of an office.

(3)No order under subsection (2) may be made without the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice.

(4)An order under subsection (2) may make appropriate consequential amendments in any enactment or instrument (whenever passed or made).

(5)In this Act—

• “listed judicial office” means an office listed in Schedule 1, and

• “protected judicial office” means the office of Lord Chief Justice, the office of Lord Justice of Appeal or a listed judicial office.

3 Judicial Appointments CommissionN.I.

(1)There is to be a body corporate known as the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission.

(2)The Commission is to consist of—

(a)a chairman, and

(b)twelve other members appointed by the [F2Lord Chancellor].

(3)Schedule 2 makes further provision about the Commission.

(4)The Lord Chief Justice is to be the chairman of the Commission; but for any time during which—

(a)the office of Lord Chief Justice is vacant, or

(b)he is not available,

the senior Lord Justice of Appeal who is available is to act as the chairman (whether or not he is already a member).

(5)The following are to be appointed as the other members—

(a)five persons nominated by the Lord Chief Justice (referred to in this section and Schedule 2 as “judicial members”),

(b)a barrister nominated by the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland and a solicitor nominated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland (so referred to as “legal profession members”), and

(c)five persons who do not hold (and have never held) a protected judicial office and are not (and have never been) barristers or solicitors (so referred to as “lay members”);

and a reference in Schedule 2 to a non-judicial member is to a member who is either a legal profession member or a lay member.

(6)The judicial members are to be—

(a)a Lord Justice of Appeal,

(b)a judge of the High Court,

(c)a county court judge,

(d)a resident magistrate, and

(e)a lay magistrate.

(7)A person may not be appointed to be a lay member unless he has declared in writing his commitment to non-violence and exclusively peaceful and democratic means.

[F3(8)It is the duty of—

(a)the Lord Chancellor, and

(b)those responsible for making nominations under subsection (5)(a) and (b),

to make such arrangements in connection with the exercise of their functions under this section as will, so far as is practicable, secure that the membership of the Commission is reflective of the community in Northern Ireland.]

5 Appointment to listed judicial officesN.I.

(1)Schedule 3 transfers to the First Minister and deputy First Minister, acting jointly, the power to make appointments, or recommendations for appointment, to listed judicial offices and makes provision about associated functions.

[F5(1A)The Lord Chancellor must make an appointment, or a recommendation for an appointment, to fill any vacancy in a listed judicial office.

(1B)Subsection (1A) does not apply to a vacancy while the Lord Chief Justice agrees that it may remain unfilled.]

(2)Only a person selected by the Commission may be appointed, or recommended for appointment, to a listed judicial office.

(3)The [F6Lord Chancellor] may at any time by notice require the Commission to select a person to be appointed, or recommended for appointment, to a listed judicial office.

(4)When the Commission is so required, it must—

(a)inform the [F7Lord Chancellor] of the person selected to be appointed, or recommended for appointment, to the office, and

(b)make a report to [F8the Lord Chancellor] on its process of selection, indicating the basis of its decision to select that person.

(5)If the [F9Lord Chancellor does] not (within a reasonable time after receiving the report under subsection (4)(b)) appoint or recommend for appointment the person selected by the Commission, [F10he] must by notice require the Commission to reconsider its decision; and the notice must include a statement of [F11his] reasons for requiring it to do so.

(6)If the Commission is required to reconsider its decision, it must—

(a)after doing so, either re-affirm its selection or select a different person to be appointed, or recommended for appointment, to the office,

(b)inform the [F12Lord Chancellor] of the outcome of its reconsideration, and

(c)make a report to [F13the Lord Chancellor] indicating the basis of the decision made by it after its reconsideration.

(7)The [F14Lord Chancellor] must, on being informed by the Commission of the outcome of the reconsideration of its decision, appoint, or recommend for appointment, the person selected by the Commission after the reconsideration.

[F15(8)The selection of a person to be appointed, or recommended for appointment, to a listed judicial office (whether initially or after reconsideration) must be made solely on the basis of merit.

(9)Subject to that, the Commission must at all times engage in a programme of action which complies with subsection (10).

(10)A programme of action complies with this subsection if—

(a)it is designed to secure, so far as it is reasonably practicable to do so, that appointments to listed judicial offices are such that those holding such offices are reflective of the community in Northern Ireland;

(b)it requires the Commission, so far as it is reasonably practicable to do so, to secure that a range of persons reflective of the community in Northern Ireland is available for consideration by the Commission whenever it is required to select a person to be appointed, or recommended for appointment, to a listed judicial office; and

(c)it is for the time being approved by the Commission for the purposes of this section.]

[F165ADisclosure of information to the CommissionN.I.

(1)Information which is held by or on behalf of a permitted person (whether obtained before or after this section comes into force) may be disclosed to the Commission or a committee of the Commission for the purposes of selection under section 5.

(2)A disclosure under this section is not to be taken to breach any restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

(3)But nothing in this section authorises the making of a disclosure—

(a)which contravenes the Data Protection Act 1998, or

(b)which is prohibited by Part 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

(4)This section does not affect a power to disclose which exists apart from this section.

(5)The following are permitted persons—

(a)a chief officer of police of a police force in England and Wales;

(b)a chief constable of a police force in Scotland;

(c)the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland;

(d)the Director General of the National Criminal Intelligence Service;

(e)the Director General of the National Crime Squad;

(f)the Commissioners of Inland Revenue;

(g)the Commissioners of Customs and Excise.

(6)The Lord Chancellor may by order designate as permitted persons other persons who exercise functions which he considers are of a public nature (including a body or person discharging regulatory functions in relation to any description of activities).

(7)Information must not be disclosed under this section on behalf of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or on behalf of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise unless the Commissioners concerned authorise the disclosure.

(8)The power to authorise a disclosure under subsection (7) may be delegated (either generally or for a specific purpose)—

(a)in the case of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue, to an officer of the Board of Inland Revenue,

(b)in the case of the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, to a customs officer.

(9)For the purposes of this section a customs officer is a person commissioned by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise under section 6(3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.]