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Constitutional Reform Bill
Further consideration of amendments on Report resumed on Clause 44.
Baroness Ashton of Upholland moved Amendment No. 141A:
"(4A) Before making an order under this section, the Minister must consult all of the following—
(a) the persons listed in subsection (4B);
(b) the bodies listed in subsection (4C).
(4B) The persons referred to in subsection (4A)(a) are—
(a) the President of the Supreme Court;
(b) the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales;
(c) the Master of the Rolls;
(d) the Lord President of the Court of Session;
(e) the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland;
(f) the Lord Justice Clerk;
(g) the President of the Queen's Bench Division;
(h) the President of the Family Division;
(i) the Chancellor of the High Court.
(4C) The bodies referred to in subsection (4A)(b) are—
(a) the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales;
(b) the Law Society of England and Wales;
(c) the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland;
(d) the Law Society of Scotland;
(e) the General Council of the Bar of Northern Ireland;
(f) the Law Society of Northern Ireland."
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The noble Baroness said: My Lords, in moving Amendment No. 141A, I shall speak also to the other amendments in the group standing in the names of the noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, and the noble Baroness, Lady Carnegy of Lour, and government Amendment No. 150A.
The amendments tabled by the noble Duke add to the list of those required to be consulted in relation to the exercise of certain powers affecting the operation of the Supreme Court. After considering the arguments on Amendments Nos. 142 and 143 in Committee, the Government have concluded that there is merit in them—so much so that we have tabled government amendments to very similar effect.
Amendment No. 141A has been drafted to ensure that it achieves the same end as Amendments Nos. 142 and 143, tabled by the noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, and the noble Baroness, Lady Carnegy of Lour—the addition of the Lord Justice Clerk and the legal professional bodies to the list of those who must be consulted.
The opportunity has been taken, however, to separate out the judges to be consulted from the bodies to be consulted, with a consequent shortening of the rather long single list which would otherwise result. I hope that noble Lords will agree that this makes for an improvement in the structure of the clause. I therefore hope that the noble Duke and the noble Baroness will feel able to withdraw their amendments.
Amendment No. 150A adds the Lord Justice Clerk to the list of senior judges in Clause 48, the significance of which is that the "senior judges" must be consulted about the selection of suitable candidates for appointment to any vacancy in the Supreme Court, subject to their not being candidates themselves or members of the selection commission.
The amendment was, in a very slightly different form, originally tabled by the noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, and the noble Baroness, Lady Carnegy of Lour, in Committee and has been brought forward on Report in the same format. There was considerable support for this proposal in your Lordships' House and, on reflection, the Government agree with the arguments of the noble Duke and the noble Baroness and have now tabled an amendment to give effect to that agreement. On that basis, I hope that the noble Duke, the Duke of Montrose, and the noble Baroness, Lady Carnegy of Lour, will agree to withdraw their amendments. I beg to move.
The Deputy Speaker (Lord Ampthill): My Lords, I should remind the House that if this amendment is agreed to I cannot call Amendments Nos. 142 and 143.
The Duke of Montrose: My Lords, I thank the Minister for her words. This was always going to be a sensitive subject. I am glad that, through the amendment, the Government are opening up the question of consultation to a fairly wide list of responsible bodies. This includes those to whom I and my noble friend Lady Carnegy of Lour referred in our amendment in Committee. I welcome the changes in the amendment.
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The Minister has accepted the contents of Amendment No. 150, but in Amendment No. 141A the Government have placed the Lord Justice Clerk one rung further down the ladder from the position that I suggested. Perhaps the Minister can explain the system used to determine those matters and whether I should accept the difference.
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: My Lords, if I could answer the noble Duke's question, he can be assured that I would. I shall endeavour to find out, but I suspect that it has nothing to do with anything other than the appropriate way in which these lists are drawn up.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 142 to 144 not moved.]
Clause 45 [Fees: supplementary]:
[Amendment No. 145 not moved.]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland moved Amendment No. 145A:
"ANNUAL REPORT
(1) As soon as practicable after each financial year, the chief executive of the Supreme Court must prepare a report about the business of the Supreme Court during that year and give a copy of that report to the following persons—
(a) the Minister;
(b) the First Minister in Scotland;
(c) the First Minister and the deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland;
(d) the Assembly First Secretary in Wales.
(2) The Minister must lay a copy of any report of which a copy is given under subsection (1)(a) before each House of Parliament.
(3) Each of the following is a "financial year" for the purposes of this section—
(a) the period which begins with the date on which this section comes into force and ends with the following 31 March;
(b) each successive period of 12 months."
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Clause 46 [Records of the Supreme Court]:
[Amendment No. 146 not moved.]
Clause 47 [Proceedings under jurisdiction transferred to Supreme Court]:
[Amendment No. 147 not moved.]
Schedule 9 [Proceedings under jurisdiction transferred to Supreme Court]:
[Amendment No. 148 not moved.]
Clause 48 [Interpretation of Part 2]:
[Amendments Nos. 149 and 150 not moved.]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland moved Amendment No. 150A:
"(ea) the Lord Justice Clerk;"
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 151 to 155 not moved.]
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Schedule 10 [The Judicial Appointments Commission]:
Baroness Ashton of Upholland moved Amendment No. 155A:
Page 205, line 24, at end insert "of a county court, a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) or a person appointed to an office under section 89 of the Supreme Court Act 1981"
The noble Baroness said: My Lords, these amendments to Schedule 10 are technical and drafting amendments to clarify and define what is meant by certain judicial offices. They also tidy up some of the drafting in the Bill.
Amendment No. 155A further clarifies and defines what is meant by the office of district judge in the context of judicial membership of the Judicial Appointments Commission. The district judge member of the commission will include the offices of district judge of the county court, a district judge in magistrates' courts or a person appointed to an office under Section 89 of the Supreme Court Act 1981. Those offices are: Senior Master of the Queen's Bench Division; Chief Chancery Master; Chief Taxing Master; Chief Bankruptcy Registrar; Senior District Judge of the Family Division; Master, Queen's Bench Division; Queen's Coroner and Attorney and Master of the Crown Office and Registrar of Criminal Appeals; Admiralty Registrar; Master, Chancery Division; Registrar in Bankruptcy of the High Court; Taxing Master of the Supreme Court; District Judge of the Principal Registry of the Family Division; and Master of the Court of Protection.
Amendments Nos. 156A and 156G are consequential drafting amendments applying the improved definition to Schedule 10 to the Bill, so a full definition is no longer required in paragraph 6(1), and linking it to the reference to district judge in paragraph 11 of Schedule 10, which sets out the seniority of the judicial members of the commission.
Amendment No. 155C is a technical amendment to ensure that the lay justice member of the Judicial Appointments Commission should be just that. It provides that holders of offices listed in Part 3 of Schedule 12 who may also have been appointed justices of the peace are not eligible for membership of this category. The effect is to exclude anyone from being a lay justice member who is a justice of the peace who holds any other office listed in the Bill. The only exception is the office of general commissioner of income tax. That role has a number of similarities to the role of justice, for example. The members of that tribunal are not legally qualified, and sit in benches to consider cases, so it would clearly not be right for dual membership to disqualify them for commission membership.
Amendment No. 156K is a drafting improvement. We believe that the existing wording might give rise to some uncertainties, for example, it might be contended that the commission comes into existence when the commissioners are appointed, not when the commencement order comes into force. The amendment removes the ambiguity. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
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