Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

Part 2Selection by the Judicial Appointments Commission

Eligibility for selection

3A person is eligible for selection in pursuance of a request under paragraph 2(5) only if—

(a)he satisfies the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 7-year basis,

(b)he is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least seven years' standing, or

(c)he is a barrister or solicitor in Northern Ireland of at least seven years' standing.

The selection process

4In Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) (appointments), after section 75 insert—

“Senior President of Tribunals

75ASections 75B to 75G apply where request made for selection

(1)Sections 75B to 75G apply where the Lord Chancellor makes a request to the Commission under paragraph 2(5) of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (request for person to be selected for recommendation for appointment to the office of Senior President of Tribunals).

(2)Those sections are subject to section 95 (withdrawal and modification of requests).

75BSelection process

(1)On receiving a request the Commission must appoint a selection panel.

(2)The panel must —

(a)determine the selection process to be applied,

(b)apply the selection process, and

(c)make a selection accordingly.

(3)As part of the selection process the panel must consult—

(a)the Lord Chief Justice, if not a member of the panel,

(b)the Lord President of the Court of Session, if not a member of the panel, and

(c)the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, if not a member of the panel.

(4)One person only must be selected for the recommendation to which a request relates.

(5)Subsection (4) applies to selection under this section and to selection under section 75G.

(6)A selection panel is a committee of the Commission.

75CSelection panel

(1)The selection panel must consist of four members.

(2)The first member is the Lord Chief Justice, or his nominee.

(3)The second member is a person designated by the Lord Chief Justice.

(4)Unless subsection (7) applies, the third member is the chairman of the Commission or his nominee.

(5)The fourth member is a lay member of the Commission designated by the third member.

(6)Subsection (7) applies if—

(a)there is no chairman of the Commission, or

(b)the chairman of the Commission is unavailable and has not nominated a person under subsection (4).

(7)In those cases the third member is a lay member of the Commission selected by the lay members of the Commission other than the chairman.

(8)A nominee of the Lord Chief Justice must be a Head of Division or a Lord Justice of Appeal.

(9)The person designated under subsection (3) must be—

(a)a person who holds, or has held, the office of Senior President of Tribunals,

(b)a person who holds, or has held, office as a Chamber President of a chamber of the First-tier Tribunal or of a chamber of the Upper Tribunal, or

(c)a person who holds, or has held, an office that, in the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice, is such that a holder of it would acquire knowledge or experience of tribunals broadly similar to that which would be acquired by—

(i)a person who holds the office of Senior President of Tribunals, or

(ii)a person who holds office as a Chamber President of a chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, or

(iii)a person who holds office as a Chamber President of a chamber of the Upper Tribunal.

(10)Before designating a person under subsection (3), the Lord Chief Justice must consult—

(a)the Lord President of the Court of Session, and

(b)the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.

(11)A person may not be appointed to the panel if he is willing to be considered for selection.

(12)A person may not be appointed to the panel as the nominee of more than one person.

(13)A person appointed to the panel otherwise than as a nominee may not be a nominee.

(14)The first member is the chairman of the panel.

(15)On any vote by the panel the chairman of the panel has an additional, casting vote in the event of a tie.

75DReport

(1)After complying with section 75B(2) the selection panel must submit a report to the Lord Chancellor.

(2)The report must—

(a)state who has been selected;

(b)contain any other information required by the Lord Chancellor.

(3)The report must be in a form approved by the Lord Chancellor.

(4)After submitting the report the panel must provide any further information the Lord Chancellor may require.

75EThe Lord Chancellor’s options

(1)This section refers to the following stages—

(2)At stage 1 the Lord Chancellor must do one of the following—

(a)accept the selection;

(b)reject the selection;

(c)require the selection panel to reconsider the selection.

(3)At stage 2 the Lord Chancellor must do one of the following—

(a)accept the selection;

(b)reject the selection, but only if it was made following a reconsideration at stage 1;

(c)require the selection panel to reconsider the selection, but only if it was made following a rejection at stage 1.

(4)At stage 3 the Lord Chancellor must accept the selection, unless subsection (5) applies and he accepts a selection under it.

(5)If a person whose selection the Lord Chancellor required to be reconsidered at stage 1 or 2 was not selected again at the next stage, the Lord Chancellor may, at stage 3, accept the selection made at that earlier stage.

75FExercise of powers to reject or require reconsideration

(1)The power of the Lord Chancellor under section 75E to reject a selection at stage 1 or 2 is exercisable only on the grounds that, in the Lord Chancellor’s opinion, the person selected is not suitable for the office of Senior President of Tribunals.

(2)The power of the Lord Chancellor under section 75E to require the selection panel to reconsider a selection at stage 1 or 2 is exercisable only on the grounds that, in the Lord Chancellor’s opinion—

(a)there is not enough evidence that the person is suitable for the office of Senior President of Tribunals, or

(b)there is evidence that the person is not the best candidate on merit.

(3)The Lord Chancellor must give the selection panel reasons in writing for rejecting or requiring reconsideration of a selection.

75GSelection following rejection or requirement to reconsider

(1)If under section 75F the Lord Chancellor rejects or requires reconsideration of a selection at stage 1 or 2, the selection panel must select a person in accordance with this section.

(2)If the Lord Chancellor rejects a selection, the selection panel—

(a)may not select the person rejected, and

(b)where the rejection is following reconsideration of a selection, may not select the person (if different) whose selection it reconsidered.

(3)If the Lord Chancellor requires a selection to be reconsidered, the selection panel—

(a)may select the same person or a different person, but

(b)where the requirement is following a rejection, may not select the person rejected.

(4)The selection panel must inform the Lord Chancellor of the person selected following a rejection or a requirement to reconsider.

(5)Subsections (2) and (3) do not prevent a person being selected on a subsequent request under paragraph 2(5) of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.”

Withdrawal and modification of requests under paragraph 2(5)

5(1)Section 95 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4) (withdrawal and modification of requests) is amended as follows.

(2)In subsection (1) (application of section), after “87” insert “or paragraph 2(5) of Schedule 1 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007”.

(3)In subsection (4) (limitation on withdrawal of request under subsection (2)(c)), after “73(2),” insert “75E(2),”.