Judiciary to produce new strategy to tackle underrepresentation of black judges in 2025

Tackling the underrepresentation of black judges and improving accommodations for disabled judges will be the main areas of work on judicial diversity for 2025.

That decision has come in a statement from Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill  and Sir Keith Lindblom, Senior President of Tribunals.

They said the Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2020-2025 was nearing the end of its five-year term and would be replaced in 2026 by a new strategy.

The overarching aim of this would be to increase the personal and professional diversity of the judiciary by increasing the number of applicants from diverse backgrounds and by supporting their inclusion, retention, and progress in the judiciary.

Progress has been made across all areas in encouraging a more inclusive working environment, they said.

Underrepresentation of black judges and improving accommodations for disabled judges would be priorities to address.

LCJ Carr and Sir Keith said: “We recognise that there is more to be done. We encourage you all to continue engaging with your leaders and colleagues to explore how you can contribute to achieving the objectives of the strategy.”

Mark Smulian