DCA appoints first chair of the Judicial Appointments Commissio.

The Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) has announced the appointment of the first chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Baroness Usha Prashar, whose career path included positions as director of the national council for voluntary organisations; executive chairman of the parole board for England and Wales and member of Lord Chancellor’s advisory committee on legal education and conduct, will take up her position in April 2006.

The Judicial Appointments Commission, which will include 14 commissioners, will be responsible for the appointments of judges in courts and tribunals, previously the responsibility of the Lord Chancellor.

Secretary of state for constitutional affairs and Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said: "I am pleased that someone of Baroness Usha Prashar’s calibre has been appointed to the Judicial Appointments Commission, one of the cornerstones of the new relationship between judges and politicians".