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The Times (London), UK
September 20, 2012 Thursday 6:36 PM GMT
Only Azerbaijan and Armenia have fewer women judges than UK
by Frances Gibb, Law Editor
Women are so scarce in the ranks of the UK judiciary that only
Azerbaijan and Armenia have a poorer record, a report has revealed.
While there is almost "gender equality" across most judiciaries in
Europe, only 23 per cent of judges in England and Wales are women and
in Scotland just 21 per cent.
In some states - such as Serbia, Slovenia, Latvia and Romania - more
than 70 per cent of judges are women.
The report comes from the Council of Europe, which has looked at the
"efficiency and quality of European justice systems" across its 47
member states.
It will be embarrassing to UK ministers who are making efforts to
improve judicial diversity in the UK.
The Ministry of Justice published an update last week hailing
"significant progress" by its judicial diversity taskforce for
implementing 20 of 53 recommendations made by Baroness Neuberger on
how to improve diversity in the legal profession. The report
acknowledges however that there is "no room for complacency".
But the Judicial Appointments Commission has recently appointed
another woman High Court judge, bringing the total of women in the
High Court to 18. That is the highest on record although it has to be
set against the total 108 High Court judges in post.
The Commission is about to launch a recruitment drive for another nine
High court judges.
But if UK judges fair badly compared with European counterparts in
terms of diversity, they do well on pay.
The UK judiciary, a much smaller group than in other countries because
of the use of lay magistrates, score highly on earnings, and are among
the best paid, earning on average £197,750 a year.
Only judges in Ireland and in Switzerland are judges better paid, it
says, respectively earning £206,157 and £211,056. The worst paid are
those in Albania, on only £11,752 a year.
UK judges are also a rare breed. While in England and Wales there are
only 3.6 professional judges per 100,000 of the population, other
countries in Europe have as many as nearly 50 judges per 100,000 of
the population.
The report also finds that England and Wales is the most generous
jurisdicion in terms of average legal aid paid per case, which in 2010
was £2,839.
The number of lawyers is on the rise across almost all European
countries and in the UK, the number of lawyers per professional judges
is the highest, partly because of the small number of judges, the
report says.
The UK has 83 lawyers per professional judge while some states have
fewer than two, such as Monaco, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and
Herzeogovina.
The Council of Europe is promoting a policy of equality across Europe
between men and women judges in member states.
Across Europe it finds a "near gender equality, with an average for
all states or entitles of 52 per cent of men and 48 per cent of
women."
But it also notes that equality has not yet reached the top judicial
posts: among those 26 states providing data, only eight had a woman at
the top of the highest court in 2010.
"The 'glass ceiling' impeding access to the hierarchical progression
of women seems to exist also in the field of justice."
September 20, 2012 Thursday 6:36 PM GMT
Only Azerbaijan and Armenia have fewer women judges than UK
by Frances Gibb, Law Editor
Women are so scarce in the ranks of the UK judiciary that only
Azerbaijan and Armenia have a poorer record, a report has revealed.
While there is almost "gender equality" across most judiciaries in
Europe, only 23 per cent of judges in England and Wales are women and
in Scotland just 21 per cent.
In some states - such as Serbia, Slovenia, Latvia and Romania - more
than 70 per cent of judges are women.
The report comes from the Council of Europe, which has looked at the
"efficiency and quality of European justice systems" across its 47
member states.
It will be embarrassing to UK ministers who are making efforts to
improve judicial diversity in the UK.
The Ministry of Justice published an update last week hailing
"significant progress" by its judicial diversity taskforce for
implementing 20 of 53 recommendations made by Baroness Neuberger on
how to improve diversity in the legal profession. The report
acknowledges however that there is "no room for complacency".
But the Judicial Appointments Commission has recently appointed
another woman High Court judge, bringing the total of women in the
High Court to 18. That is the highest on record although it has to be
set against the total 108 High Court judges in post.
The Commission is about to launch a recruitment drive for another nine
High court judges.
But if UK judges fair badly compared with European counterparts in
terms of diversity, they do well on pay.
The UK judiciary, a much smaller group than in other countries because
of the use of lay magistrates, score highly on earnings, and are among
the best paid, earning on average £197,750 a year.
Only judges in Ireland and in Switzerland are judges better paid, it
says, respectively earning £206,157 and £211,056. The worst paid are
those in Albania, on only £11,752 a year.
UK judges are also a rare breed. While in England and Wales there are
only 3.6 professional judges per 100,000 of the population, other
countries in Europe have as many as nearly 50 judges per 100,000 of
the population.
The report also finds that England and Wales is the most generous
jurisdicion in terms of average legal aid paid per case, which in 2010
was £2,839.
The number of lawyers is on the rise across almost all European
countries and in the UK, the number of lawyers per professional judges
is the highest, partly because of the small number of judges, the
report says.
The UK has 83 lawyers per professional judge while some states have
fewer than two, such as Monaco, Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and
Herzeogovina.
The Council of Europe is promoting a policy of equality across Europe
between men and women judges in member states.
Across Europe it finds a "near gender equality, with an average for
all states or entitles of 52 per cent of men and 48 per cent of
women."
But it also notes that equality has not yet reached the top judicial
posts: among those 26 states providing data, only eight had a woman at
the top of the highest court in 2010.
"The 'glass ceiling' impeding access to the hierarchical progression
of women seems to exist also in the field of justice."