High Court Judge - Appointment

Appointment

High Court judges, as with the other Senior Judiciary are appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 a new Judicial Appointments Commission has removed the appointment of judges from the political arena. High Court judges, as with other judges, are now appointed on the basis of open competition.

High Court judges, as with all judges in England and Wales, hold office during good behaviour; this is laid down in the Bill of Rights 1689. A High Court judge can only be removed by the Queen upon an Address of both Houses of Parliament.

Formerly, High Court judges could only be appointed from among barristers of at least 10 years' standing. Before the qualifications changed, a typical appointee had in the region of twenty to thirty years' experience as a lawyer. Only four solicitors had been appointed as puisne judges – Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, Henry Hodge in 2004, and Gary Hickinbottom in 2008. Collins was elevated further to the Court of Appeal in 2007 and became a law lord in 2009. Occasionally more junior members of the judiciary are elevated to this rank, such as Mr Justice Crane who was formerly a Circuit Judge and Mrs Justice Butler-Sloss (now Baroness Butler-Sloss) who was previously a Registrar in the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court. A few distinguished academics have also made it on to the High Court bench, including Mrs Justice Hale (now Baroness Hale of Richmond) and, more recently, Mr Justice Beatson. In 2004, calls for increased diversity among the judiciary were recognised and the qualification period was changed so that, as of 21 July 2008, a potential High Court Judge must satisfy the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a seven-year basis.

Appointments are made to one of the High Court's three divisions: The Chancery Division, the Queen's Bench Division and the Family Division.