Paragraph 8 Panels
230.Paragraph 8 provides for a panel to select the Commissioners, with the exception of the three senior Judges. The panel will comprise four members, unless the appointment being made is that of the chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission, when there will be no fourth member. The first member (who will be the chairman of the panel) is chosen by the Lord Chancellor with the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice (or if the post of Lord Chief Justice is vacant then with the agreement of the senior Head of Division). The second member will be the Lord Chief Justice or his nominee, unless the office of the Lord Chief Justice is vacant, when it will be the senior Head of Division or his nominee. The third member will be chosen by the chairman. The fourth member will be the chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission, when there is one and that is not the post being appointed to. Members of the panel must not be civil servants. In addition the chairman of the panel must not be a Commissioner, a member of the Commission’s staff, a practising lawyer, a judicial office holder listed in Schedule 14, or a member of the House of Commons. The third member must not be a member of the House of Commons. In selecting the first member, consideration must be given as to whether the person being appointed has previously exercised any judicial functions or has any past service as a civil servant, a Commissioner, a member of the Commission’s staff, a practising lawyer, a judicial office holder listed in Schedule 14, or any past or present political activity or affiliations which would make them inappropriate for appointment. The first member must apply the same considerations in nominating the third member. These provisions are intended to ensure the neutrality of the panel, including its political neutrality.
231.Paragraph 9 provides for the Lord Chancellor to pay the panel fees and expenses.
