Part-time option opens up for judges

Constitutional affairs secretary Lord Falconer announced today (4 August) that part-time sitting will be an option for all judicial appointments below High Court level from next April.

The move is intended to increase diversity in the judiciary by allowing more people to take up a judicial appointment.

A working group set up to investigate the feasibility of the scheme reported in June. It was chaired by Liz Grimsey, the director of the Legal and Judicial Services Group, and members included Mr Justice Pitchford, a judge in the Queen’s Bench Division.