Clause 22 - Appointment etc.
Courts Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 33, in
clause 22, page 10, line 39, at end insert—
'(1A) Before making a recommendation under subsection (1), the Lord Chancellor shall consult the lay justices of the local justice area to which it is intended that the District Judge may be assigned.'.
It must be sensible for the Bill to require that, before a recommendation about who is to be a district judge is made, the lay justices who will be working with him should be statutory consultees, as it were; they should have a part to play in the decision making. We hope that the Government will agree that that would be sensible. As I experienced in my years at the Bar, the way that Crown court judges heard appeals from magistrates courts with lay justices sitting either side of them was an important part for those concerned of developing a working relationship in the administration of justice. Senior magistrates got greater experience by sitting with Crown court judges.
If the different parts of the judicial system are to work properly together, surely it is a good idea for lay justices to express a view on who will be appointed as a district judge. That is a small point, and I do not want to take up too much of the Committee's time with it, but I hope that the Minister will understand that the amendment is a genuine attempt to improve the Bill by including the requirement that lay justices be consulted. I will listen with interest to the Minister's response.