Information Pack

Court of Appeal 2018

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1. Introduction

The Lord Chancellor has asked the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to convene a

selection panel to recommend candidates to fill up to seven vacancies in the Court of Appeal

that are expected to arise in the next year. The composition of the panel (which sits as a

committee of the JAC) will be:

• The Lord Chief Justice – Chairman of the panel

• The Master of the Rolls

• Professor Lord Kakkar – JAC Chairman

• Mr Andrew Kennon – JAC Lay Commissioner

• Dame Valerie Strachan –JAC Lay Commissioner

The panel determines the selection process to be followed, which will include consultation

with the Lord Chancellor, appropriate judiciary and other key interested parties. At the end, it

advises the Lord Chancellor of the candidates it is recommending for appointment. The Lord

Chancellor’s recommendations then go to the Office of the Prime Minister and ultimately to

the Sovereign, for approval.

Applications are also encouraged from individuals who are not necessarily salaried High

Court judges, but who have gained experience of sitting at the highest level by other means

(for instance as a judge of the Upper Tribunal or as an experienced Deputy High Court

judge).

This pack contains information about the appointments process. It describes the selection

process that the panel will follow, with relevant dates and advice on how to prepare for the

various stages of this process.

Before you can be considered for appointment, there are eligibility requirements that you

must meet. These are set out on page 4.

The closing date for applications is 13:00 on Thursday, 15 February 2018.

Overview

The Court of Appeal is an appellate court, meaning that it deals with appeals from the ‘lower’

courts. It consists of two divisions: criminal and civil.

The Criminal Division, led by the Lord Chief Justice and the Vice-President of the Criminal

Division, hears appeals in criminal matters from the Crown Court. In the Criminal Division,

the bench usually consists of a Lord or Lady Justice and two High Court judges.

The Civil Division, headed by the Master of the Rolls, hears appeals from all three Divisions

of the High Court (Chancery, Queen's Bench and Family) and, in some instances from the

County Courts across England and Wales and from certain Tribunals such as the

Employment Appeals Tribunal; the Immigration and Asylum Chamber; the Lands Chamber

and the Administrative Appeals Chamber.

Bringing an appeal is usually subject to obtaining permission, which may be granted by the

court below or, more usually, by the Court of Appeal itself. Applications for permission to

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appeal are commonly determined by a single Lord or Lady Justice. Appeals themselves are

determined by two or three judges.

The Court of Appeal is the highest court within the Senior Courts, which also include the

High Court and Crown Court.

The Court of Appeal normally sits in the Royal Courts of Justice.

The salary for these posts is £206,742.

The job description can be found on the JAC website and the judicial intranet.

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2. About the post

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for appointment as a Lord or Lady Justice of Appeal you must meet the

following requirements.

Statutory eligibility requirements

Under section 10(3)(b) of the Senior Courts Act 1981, as amended by paragraph 13 of

Schedule 10 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, no person shall be

qualified for appointment as a Lord or Lady Justice of Appeal unless he or she:

• satisfies the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 7-year basis, or

• is a judge of the High Court.

The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act (TCE) 2007 has introduced the ‘judicial-

appointment eligibility condition’. You will have to show that:

• you possess a relevant legal qualification;

• for the requisite period; and

• that whilst holding that qualification you have been gaining legal experience.

Relevant legal qualification

You have a relevant legal qualification if you are a solicitor or barrister in England or Wales.

You will be considered eligible as a solicitor when your name is first entered on the Roll kept

under section 6 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

You will be considered eligible as a barrister a) when you have completed pupillage in

connection with becoming a barrister or b) if you are not required to undertake pupillage in

connection with becoming a barrister, when you are called to the Bar of England and Wales.

When applying for judicial appointment under b) you will need to provide details in the

personal information form of why you are not required to undertake pupillage. This will most

likely be because you were called to the Bar prior to 1 January 2002. If you were called to

the Bar after this date, you will only be eligible if you have completed or have been

exempted from pupillage by the Bar Standards Board. If you have been exempted from

pupillage, you will be required to provide evidence of this by the time applications close,

otherwise you will not be eligible to proceed.

Requisite period

The selection panel will count the requisite seven year period from the start date of the

relevant legal qualification up to the end of July 2018.

Legal experience

In order to be eligible for judicial appointment, you must not only be in possession of the

relevant qualification, but must also have been engaged in ‘law related activity’ whilst holding

that qualification.

Meaning of law related activity

An activity is considered to be a law related activity whether or not it is undertaken for

remuneration, and whether or not it is undertaken on a full or part-time basis.

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Each of the following is a relevant law related activity:

• the carrying out of judicial functions of any court or tribunal;

• acting as an arbitrator;

• practice or employment as a lawyer;

• advising (whether or not in the course of practice or employment as a lawyer) on the

application of the law;

• assisting (whether or not in the course of such practice) persons involved in proceedings

for the resolution of issues arising under the law;

• acting (whether or not in the course of such practice) as mediator in connection with

attempts to resolve issues that are, or if not resolved could be, the subject of

proceedings;

• drafting (whether or not in the course of such practice) documents intended to affect

persons’ rights or obligations;

• teaching or researching law; or

• any activity that in the relevant decision makers’ opinion (this means the Lord Chancellor

or her delegated official) is of a broadly similar nature to an activity within paragraphs a)

to h).

Further guidance on the meaning of a law related activity has been provided by the MoJ and

can be found on the JAC website.

Additional Selection Criteria

Previous service in a judicial office

Candidates for the Court of Appeal are expected to be of outstanding ability and, save in

exceptional circumstances, have sufficient directly relevant previous judicial experience. The

meaning of “directly relevant experience” is sitting as a judge in a higher court, with

substantial experience of trying complex and demanding cases.

Candidates will need to demonstrate adaptability in the context of reform as well as

commitment to work with the Master of the Rolls on continued reform within the Court of

Appeal.

Age

There is no upper or lower age limit for candidates apart from the statutory retirement age of

70. The age at which someone is appointed to the Court of Appeal must allow for a

reasonable length of service before retirement. When considering a candidate's reasonable

length of service, the panel will consider the present and future needs of the Court of Appeal,

the Heads of Division and the future requirements of the Supreme Court.

Nationality

You must complete a declaration of your nationality in the personal information form. In order

to qualify for this post, you must be a citizen of:

• the United Kingdom; or

• another Commonwealth country; or

• the Republic of Ireland.

You must satisfy the nationality requirements by the time applications close for the exercise.

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Disqualification

You should note that the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 applies to this office.

For further details please refer to the outline terms and conditions.

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3. The selection process

Overview

To apply for this post please notify us of your intent to apply with the contact details of up to

two independent assessors (formerly referees) – whom we will contact thereafter - by 13:00

on 6 February. Next, please complete your letter of application and CV and return them by

13:00 on 15 February. (At the same time you will also have to submit a Personal

Information form and a consent form for character checks).

Using your letter, assessors’ comments and additional input from consultees1, the panel will

shortlist on 14 March. Interviews will be conducted on 15, 16 and 17 May only.

Appointments should be taken up from autumn 2018 onwards.

Notice of intent to apply

Please send the Notification of Intent to

Apply/assessors’ contact details by 13:00

on 6 February 2018. All documents are

available for downloading from the JAC

website https://jac.judiciary.gov.uk/.

Timetable

Notification of

Intent to Apply and

assessor details

By 13:00 on 6 February

2018

Closing date for

applications

13:00 on 15 February

2018

Sift date 14 March

Sift results to

candidates

By 19 March

Dates for

interviews

15, 16 and 17 May 2018

The letter of application

The letter of application you provide plays an important part in the selection process. In it,

please provide an explanation of how you satisfy the selection criteria for the post, and meet

the requirements of the job description, using specific and explicit examples. The selection

criteria and job description can be found on the JAC website and they are also included in

the ‘How to Apply’ guidance document.

Your examples should help to show how you demonstrate the selection criteria at the level

appropriate for the Court of Appeal and not reiterate your career history.

1Non statutory consultees at this stage will be the President of the Supreme Court and the Heads of Divisions.

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Please be concise and explicit so that there is no room for doubt about how you personally

have tackled something. People reading your application will not necessarily be able to infer

from your description what your role was and for what you were specifically responsible.

The application letter should not exceed two pages in length.

You will also be asked cite two judgments and provide an internet link or ‘Bailii.org’ reference

as the panel wishes to access these online without printing. Please also provide a summary

in your application letter, in no more than two paragraphs, explaining why you have chosen

these cases and how they demonstrate your suitability for the Court of Appeal.

CV

You are asked to provide a separate CV.

The letter of application and CV can be in a format of your choosing, but please use Word

and do not PDF the documents. The CV should be no more than two sides of A4.

If you need any information in a different format, for example Braille, please contact the JAC

using the details below.

Reference: CoA 2018 (Please use this reference on all communications) Judicial Appointments Commission 5th Floor Clive House 70 Petty France London SW1H 9EX

Email: jacset3@jac.gsi.gov.uk

Telephone: 020 3334 6139

4. Independent assessors and consultees

Introduction

Before shortlisting, the panel will seek input on all candidates from the assessors whom you

select, from the President and Deputy President of the United Kingdom Supreme Court and

the Heads of Divisions of the High Court of England and Wales.

After shortlisting, the panel will consult additional non-statutory consultees: all Justices of the Supreme Court, of the Court of Appeal and any others deemed necessary, especially those asked to comment on candidates’ expertise in particular specialisms.

It is possible that some candidates may nominate assessors who are also among the

consultees; they may fulfil both roles.

Advice on assessor selection

You may choose up to two assessors, one of whom must be judicial. They should be people

who fully understand the work of the Court of Appeal and are well placed to demonstrate to

the panel - from direct knowledge of you and your work - how you meet the selection criteria

required to undertake that work.

You should ask your assessors to review the guidance contained within the form which

provides information on what should be included.

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If you do not have the directly relevant experience specified in on pages <<4 – 5>>, your

assessors will need to be able to provide evidence to show that you are a candidate of

outstanding ability who has clearly demonstrated the requisite skills in some other significant

way.

The JAC will contact assessors via email; please ensure that you provide an accurate email

address for them.

We recommend that you check with your assessors that they do not have a conflict of

interest in this exercise and that they are able and content to provide an assessment within

the required timescale.

Conflict of interest

Please do not nominate the Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, Lord Kakkar, Dame

Valerie Strachan or Andrew Kennon as an assessor, as they are panel members.

Statutory consultation

As required by the Act, the panel will consult the Lord Chancellor early in the process and

will ask for his views on the necessary skills and qualities and the context in which these

appointments will be made.

Non-statutory consultation

This will take place before and after shortlisting.

Shortlisting

Depending on the number of applications, the first step in the selection process will be a sift.

The panel intends to call up to 12 candidates to interview. It is therefore very important that

your application letter and references set out all the relevant evidence with great clarity. It

will also consider carefully the information provided by the non-statutory consultees in

making its shortlisting decisions.

Candidates who are not shortlisted will be provided with feedback after the exercise has

finished.

Interviews

If you are shortlisted you will be invited to an interview. This will take place in the Royal

Courts of Justice. The interview will last about an hour and include a [5] minute presentation

at the start. Further details, including the presentation topic, will be sent with the invitation to

attend. The interview will consist of the panel seeking evidence from you against the

selection criteria for the post. The overall assessments made by the panel take account of

evidence from your letter of application, the interview, independent assessments and

consultees’ views.

Good character

The panel is required to select only persons of ‘good character’. In order to make these

assessments, the panel will follow the JAC’s good character guidance which can be found

on the JAC website under ‘Application and Selection’ (https://jac.judiciary.gov.uk/).

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The character guidance gives you some indication as to whether anything in your past

conduct or present circumstances might affect your application for judicial appointment. You

should read it carefully before completing the personal information form. You have a

continuing responsibility throughout the selection process for any character matter that may

arise up to the date of appointment.

Character questions and declarations

You are required to answer a number of questions related to your character in the personal

form and must make the appropriate declarations as required.

Full details on the criminal offences which must be declared can be found on the ‘Character

requirements’ page of the JAC website, which is available by accessing the following link:

https://jac.judiciary.gov.uk/good-character

When disclosing a conviction please include the nature of the offence, the date of conviction

or caution and the penalty imposed.

Where proceedings of any kind are pending, you should give details of the offence with

which you have been charged or the disciplinary process which you are subject to and, if

known, the date when the case or action may be heard. It is important that you inform us of

the outcome of any case or action concluded while your application is under consideration.

Similarly, if you are charged with any offence or any action is brought against you after

submitting your application you must inform us immediately (see the ‘Contacts and Further

Information’ section of this information pack).

In all cases, please provide as much detail as you can and indicate if there are any

mitigating factors that you think the panel should take into account in assessing your

character.

Character checks

On the panel’s behalf, the JAC will also carry out checks on all candidates whom it intends to

recommend for appointment. These checks are carried out with the College of Policing

(formerly the Association of Chief Police Officers), Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the

Law Society, the Bar Standards Board and the Judicial Conduct and Investigations Office as

applicable.

In order to carry out the checks, a consent form is required in advance of the shortlisting; a

scanned copy of your form is acceptable. Please download the consent form from the JAC

website and email the completed document (a typed signature will suffice) to jacset3@

jac.gsi.gov.uk by 15 February.

Failure to declare any matters that come to light from these checks may prejudice the

outcome of your application.

Equal Merit Provision

As a Committee of the Judicial Appointments Commission, the selection panel has decided

that in line with the JAC’s published policy, it may adopt the Equal Merit Provision to this

exercise. If the panel considers two or more candidates are of equal merit, it may use the

provision based on the data declared by candidates in the diversity monitoring form.

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Report to the Lord Chancellor

The panel reports its final selections to the Lord Chancellor. He can accept or reject these

recommendations, or ask the panel to reconsider them. He may not select alternative

candidates.

Outcome of the selection exercise

The selection results will be released after the Sovereign has approved the

recommendations. In order to ensure that the information is disseminated in a timely

fashion, you will receive a brief email/emailed letter from the panel chairman. The panel

hopes to be able to inform candidates of their results by mid-July.

If you are unsuccessful at the interview stage of the process, feedback will be offered, which

will take place after the judicial vacation ends.

If you are offered a post by the Lord Chancellor you would normally be expected to take up

the post within six months.

Medical examination

You may be asked to undergo a medical examination before taking up appointment.

Complaints procedure

If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the handling of your application, please notify the

JAC in the first instance, on complaints@judicialappointments.gov.uk who will ensure that

your complaint is addressed to the appropriate party.

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5. Further information and contacts

Further Information

For further information about process and the requirements of the CRA 2005, please consult

our website.

Reasonable adjustments

The panel will consider any reasonable adjustments needed to ensure that you can

participate in the selection process fairly. The personal information form asks you to identify

any arrangements and adjustments you may require. Requests will be considered on a

case-by-case basis and the information given will not be used in selection decisions.

If you are recommended for appointment, any reasonable adjustments to enable you to take

up appointment will be discussed separately with you by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals

Service after the panel has made its recommendation.

Submitting your letter of application

Once completed, your application should be submitted to jacset3@ jac.gsi.gov.uk.

Applications will only be accepted in hard copy in exceptional circumstances and during

normal office hours.

Please submit only one application as duplicate applications risk handling errors and cause

delays.

Acknowledgement of your letter of application

When you submit your application you will receive an email acknowledgement within 24

hours.

If you do not receive an acknowledgement within the specified period stated above, it is

essential that you contact us by telephone on 0203 334 6139 or by email to jacset3@

jac.gsi.gov.uk.

You must retain a copy of the acknowledgement of your application. If you do not receive an

acknowledgement, we have not received your application.

Future correspondence

Please note that on the personal information form you are asked to indicate whether you are

prepared to receive future exercise-related correspondence via email direct.

Summary of actions required

As soon as possible, but by 13:00 on 6 February, please email to the following email

address - jacset3@jac.gsi.gov.uk:

• your Notification of Intent to Apply, with assessors’ names and contact details.

By 13:00 on 15 February:

• your letter of application and CV to the JAC along with your Personal Information and

consent form to jacset3@jac.gsi.gov.uk.

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Contact details

Panel Secretariat

Email: jacset3@jac.gsi.gov.uk

Jeremy Brooks 020 3334 5989

Secretary to the panel

Linda McCabe 020 3334 6588

Selection Exercise Project Manager

Jacky Fox 020 3334 6139

Selection Exercise Manager

Postal address:

Judicial Appointments Commission 5th Floor Clive House 70 Petty France London SW1H 9EX