Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The JAC is an independent Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) set up under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to select candidates for judicial office and to make recommendations for appointment to the Lord Chancellor. We make selections on merit, through fair and open competition, from the widest range of eligible candidates.
The Constitutional Reform Act modified the office of Lord Chancellor and made changes to the way in which some of the functions vested in that office were to be exercised. The Act also created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and abolished the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords. It created the Judicial Appointments Commission to select people for judicial appointments in England and Wales, and provided for judicial discipline in England and Wales.
Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, we have very specific duties in the selection of judges and tribunal members, both legal and non-legal. Our key statutory responsibilities are:
- to select candidates solely on merit;
- to select only people of good character;
- to have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for selection for appointments.