'Judiciary must embrace diversity'
Virtually nothing has been done to modernise the judiciary and open up the legal profession to people from different backgrounds, it was claimed today.
Branding the appointments process outdated, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the bench must begin to reflect Ireland’s increasingly diverse society.
The rights watchdog warned greater access to the legal profession should be provided for ethnic minorities and those on low incomes to ensure future judicial appointments are more inclusive.
A seminar discussing the issue will take place tomorrow night and will include expert speakers on the profession from the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK.
Mark Kelly, ICCL director, said: “Our concern is if we don’t start talk now about how in the future our judiciary might become more diverse, there is a risk that it won’t become more diverse, so we’d be going right back to look at the entry stages to the profession itself or even beyond that and entry to law schools in Ireland,” he said.
“Very little work has really been done to make entry to law school something that is a more inclusive process, and that’s even more true when you look at the profession itself.
“In the vast majority of cases to go to the bar you would need to be someone who had access to means and support and money to be able to do that.
“The judiciary that we currently have is a reflection of legal education and practice from 40 years ago and more, and now we need to be looking to the future.”
The seminar in the Law Library is aimed at members of the judiciary, practitioners, politicians, policy makers, academics and NGOs.
It will be chaired by Mr Justice Bryan McMahon, High Court Judge and Adjunct Professor to the Faculty of Law in UCC.
The keynote speaker will be Baroness Usha Prahsar CBE, Chair of the UK’s Judicial Appointments Commission.
She will speak about efforts in the UK to increase diversity in the legal profession, including attempts to draw people from less-advantaged backgrounds.
Other speakers include Professor Kate Malleson, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London and Dermot Feenan, School of Law, University of Ulster.
Mr Kelly added: “I think we have the judiciary that is reflective of who started law many decades ago.
“My concern is around who studies law now, who’s going into the profession now, are their sufficient outreach activities, are there means to make sure people from more disadvantaged backgrounds are able to access education?
“We think those could be enhanced. That’s one of the things we’re hoping our speakers will explore at the event,” he said.
