Part 1: Tribunals and Inquiries Schedule 1
42.Schedule 1 sets out the process for appointing a Senior President and the terms of his office. This is a judicial appointment. The appointment is made by Her Majesty the Queen (section 2(1)), in line with the practice for senior judicial appointments generally. Her Majesty acts on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor.
43.Paragraph 1 provides that if there is a vacancy, the Lord Chancellor must recommend a person for appointment to the office unless the Lord Chief Justice agrees that it may remain unfilled.
44.Paragraph 2 provides that there are two alternative routes for the Lord Chancellor to make a recommendation in relation to the appointment of the Senior President. The first is where the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland agree on the nomination of a Lord or Lady Justice of Appeal or a member of the Inner House of the Court of Session as a suitable candidate for appointment. In such circumstances the Lord Chancellor must recommend the person for appointment unless that person refuses the recommendation or does not agree to the recommendation within a specified time or is otherwise not available to be recommended within a certain time. The second route applies when there is no such agreement. In those circumstances the Lord Chancellor must ask the Judicial Appointments Commission to select someone for recommendation for appointment.
45.Paragraphs 3 to 5 set out the process for selection by the Judicial Appointments Commission. It follows as closely as is appropriate the criteria and process for appointment of Heads of Division of the High Court under sections 67 to 75 of the CRA 2005.
46.Paragraph 3 provides that the eligibility requirement for the Senior President is the same as the eligibility requirement for a Lord or Lady Justice of Appeal, once amended by paragraph 13(2) of Schedule 10 to the Act.
47.Paragraph 4 inserts seven new sections into the CRA 2005. These sections create a process for the selection of the Senior President by the Judicial Appointments Commission which is the same as the process for appointment of a Head of Division of the High Court, except that the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland are consulted, because the Senior President has United Kingdom-wide responsibilities. The selection panel for the appointment of the Senior President consists of the Lord Chief Justice, or his nominee, a person designated by the Lord Chief Justice, the Chairman of the Commission or his nominee and a lay member of the Commission designated by the third member. The person designated by the Lord Chief Justice is intended to be a present or former office holder in tribunals to bring to the selection panel direct knowledge or experience of the distinctive nature of tribunals in the justice system.
48.Paragraphs 6 to 10 set out the terms of office for the Senior President. The Senior President may be appointed either for a fixed term or for an indefinite period subject only to the retirement provisions of the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993. The Senior President may only be removed from office by Her Majesty on an address presented to Her by both Houses of Parliament.
49.The Senior President may resign at any time. If the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland agree that the holder of the office is disabled by permanent infirmity and is incapacitated from resigning, the Lord Chancellor may instead declare the holder to have vacated the office.
50.Paragraph 11 provides that on appointment, the Senior President must take the oath of allegiance and the judicial oath (as set out in the Promissory Oaths Act 1868), in the presence of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales or another holder of high judicial office nominated by the Lord Chief Justice.
51.Paragraphs 12 to 14 describe the powers and responsibilities of the Senior President in relation to making representations to Parliament and Ministers about matters he considers to be of importance to tribunal judiciary and other members and matters relating to the administration of justice by tribunals. Paragraph 14 makes it clear that responsibility for representing the views of tribunal judiciary and other members to Parliament, and to the Lord Chancellor and Ministers of the Crown generally, rests with the Senior President of Tribunals.