Clause 3 - Judicial Appointments Commission
Justice (Northern Ireland)
10:45 am
Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate, Conservative)
The Minister will be aware that paragraph 5(3) of schedule 2 refers to those who apply for appointment to the commission. It states that the annual report
must include information about their gender, age, ethnic origins and community background.
I accept that paragraph (5) goes on to say that
an annual report must not identify any person or include information from which the identity of any person could be readily ascertained,
but that will be enormously difficult to achieve, given the small size of the judicial community. The Minister ascribes some importance to that objective, but the Government will have a problem achieving it. That is why the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister should be given greater freedom.