BBC NEWS | UK | Straw: too many white male judges
Quote:
Too few women and people from black and Asian backgrounds are appointed judges, Jack Straw has told MPs.
The justice secretary said the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), formed two years ago, had so far failed to create a "more diverse judiciary".
Concerns about white, middle class men dominating the bench were justified, he told the Justice Select Committee.
Mr Straw said he was determined to ensure that the judiciary represented wider society better.
"The expectation that a new system would lead to a more diverse judiciary has so far not been fulfilled," he said in evidence to the committee.
"The chairman of the JAC and I are very well aware of that.
"We are determined to do everything that we can to ensure that amongst the wider benefits of the new judicial appointments system there is a much more diverse judiciary."
Appointments 'lower'
Figures released last month showed the numbers of women and people from ethnic minorities being made judges under the new appointments system were lower than previous levels.
The JAC said 8% of the people it recommended for judicial jobs last year were black or Asian.
In contrast, between 14% and 15% of lawyers appointed annually in the two years before the JAC was established were from these ethnic groups.
In addition, 156 women were chosen for appointment under the new system, making up 34% of the total. This compares with 41% in 2005/06.
The JAC, which appoints judges in England and Wales, was established as part of reforms to make judicial appointments more "transparent and robust".
|
That's right. Sod whether they are picking the best people for the job. All that matters is their skin colour and sex.
Labour's racism and sexism is disgusting.
Just as worrying, Straw appears to be saying that the rulings that the judges make are influenced by their race and sex. That not only means that the system isn't working, but also that judgments are essentially a lottery, depending on whether you get a white judge or a black judge etc.
The only alternative is that he isn't suggesting that white male judges are incapable of making objective judgements, but that would mean that the 'representative' system is purely for public relations. In which case he is advocating the appointment of less able candidates on the basis of skin colour and sex... i.e. his wants to reduce the effectiveness of the judiciary in order to appease...er... I can't imagine any sane person actually supporting this nonsense.