Commentary on Sections Part 3 Miscellaneous and General Summary and Background Section 82: Appointment of Judges to the Competition Appeal Tribunal
451.This section changes the current process for appointing judges to the CAT to make it easier for judges from Scotland and Northern Ireland to be able to sit in the Tribunal as chairmen. It does this by providing for the Lord Chief Justices of England and Wales, and Northern Ireland and the Lord President of the Court of Session to be able to nominate judges sitting in their respective High Courts or the Court of Session for deployment as CAT chairmen.
452.Under the new provisions, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales will be able to nominate suitably qualified judges sitting in any Division of the High Court to be deployed as a judge in the CAT to sit as a chairman; currently, only judges appointed to the Chancery Division are appointed as CAT Chairs.
453.As a consequence of the change, the current eight year limit on appointment of judges in the CAT to sit as chairmen will not apply to those judges nominated to sit in the CAT and they will be able to sit until their retirement from the judiciary.