Clause 31 - Director of Public Prosecutions
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
10:30 am
I claim no credit for the thought process, as I relied exclusively on the recommendation in the criminal justice review. It states without ambiguity that
''the appointment process for the head of the Public Prosecution Service . . . be through open competition, with a selection panel, in accordance with procedures established by the Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland.''
I believe that it is right for all such senior posts to be filled by open competition. That may take a little longer and involve more work for others, but it is ultimately the only way in which transparency and openness can be seen to exist.
I shall end with a more general remark. From our debates and deliberations last week, it was clear that hon. Members from both sides of the Committee recognised the imbalance in the judiciary, and believed that the community must be reflected in all the major changes. If we do not have open competition, it will be hard to avoid the suggestion that the old boy network is retaining its influence, and that will not achieve transparency, be to the good of the Bill and the process that it initiates, or be in the interests of fairness.
That may be a jaundiced view, but it is widespread. The amendment would signpost to the community, especially the part of it that I represent, the fact that change is in the air. If we retain the anachronism of appointing by other means, the signposts will point in another direction—in the direction of a process that is not transparent, that has not been especially successful, and that has forced us into a position in which we have to deal with such a Bill.