Lady Black of Derwent is slated to retire over Christmas which would mean that the UK’s Supreme Court will only have one woman and no BAME representation. According to The Telegraph the country’s top court is now seeking a minority justice to “boost diversity of decision makers”. According to the court, the selection will be based on merit but the selection commission will also consider “increasing diversity within the court”. The applicants are required to hold a high judicial office for at least two years, or have been a qualifying practitioner for at least 15 years.
A report on the diversity of the judiciary by the ministry of justice earlier this year found that women were underrepresented in the courts, accounting only for 32 per cent of judges and 26 per cent of High Court roles or higher. Currently just 4 percent of senior judges appointed to the High Court or above are from a black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Shortlisting for the role is due to take place next month, the report noted as it said, “The selection commission welcomes applications from the widest range of applicants eligible to apply, and particularly encourages applications from those who would increase the diversity of the court”.
Lady Black, 66, is retiring after 21 years as a judge and Lady Arden will be the only woman left on the Supreme Court, the other ten are all white men. In 2017, Lady Justice Black became the second female judge of the Supreme Court after Lady Hale who served as president until her retirement in January this year. Court judges from BAME backgrounds only represent 8 per cent of court judges, rising only one per cent since 2019.
Last month, Lord Reed had also raised similar concerns stating the lack of diversity among the 12 Supreme Court justices was a situation "which cannot be allowed to become shameful if it persists".
