Clause 2 - Membership of the Commission

Part of Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:30 pm on 25 March 2004.

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Photo of John Spellar John Spellar The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office 2:30, 25 March 2004

The 2002 Act already places time limits on the other members of the commission—the lay members and the legal professionals—and it seems sensible to treat all members consistently. Under the proposed time limits, judicial members would be able to serve for up to an aggregate of 10 years, and a judicial member could be appointed afresh on being appointed to a different judicial tier. I trust that that will help to assuage the concern that the hon. Gentleman expressed that the time limits could unduly restrict membership of the commission. We do not regard the provision as unduly restrictive. Indeed, we are confident that we will have no difficulty in finding judges of the highest calibre to serve on the commission. I hope that I have reassured him on that.