Brimelow: New board needs to investigate lack of progress with Black judges
The low number of Black judges and difficulties for solicitors in being appointed to the bench show little sign of improvement, according to this year’s judicial diversity statistics [1].
New information for 2026 included that 66% of those judges who declared their education background attended a UK state school, while 7% of judges who declared their sexuality were LGB+.
In the year to 31 March, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) completed 34 judicial selection exercises (excluding senior appointments), 26 for legal posts and eight non-legal tribunal exercises.
There were 5,802 applications in all, resulting in 803 recommendations for immediate appointment.
Across all legal exercises, women accounted for 50% of the average eligible pool of candidates, 51% of the applications, 51% of those shortlisted and 55% of the recommendations for appointment
As at 1 April, female representation among all court judges (40%) was 12 percentage points higher than in 2016, and among all tribunal judges (at 54%) 10 points higher.
Women held 30% of the posts in the High Court and above, with the highest level of female representation at deputy district judges (county court) level (49%).
Ethnic minority candidates were recommended for legal exercises in line with their representation in the eligible pool (16%), “suggesting no disparity of outcomes in judicial appointments relative to White candidates”, the MoJ said.
However, 30% of applications were from ethnic minority candidates and their representation decreased at the shortlisting and then recommendation for appointment stages, where they made up 18% of the total.
Some 13% of judges are now from an ethnic minority – lower than that for the 25-74 working age population (17%) but slightly higher than the older 50-74 population (11%) – having been 8% a decade ago.
In that time, the proportion of judges from an Asian background rose from 3.5% to 6.6%, and from 1.6% to 3.3% for mixed ethnicity judges. In contrast, the proportion of Black judges inched up from 1.4% to 1.6%.
The MoJ said: “At an even more granular level, as at 1 April 2026, of the overall proportion of Asian judges more than half had an Indian background. The proportion of judges who declared themselves from a Black Caribbean background was the same as for those from a Black African background.”
Barristers continue to have greater success in appointment than solicitors and chartered legal executives – while 60% of tribunal judges are not barristers, this is down five percentage points on 2016, while the 30% figure for court judges is down four points.
“The independent characteristics of being female, an ethnic minority, and a solicitor had statistically significant effects on recommendation,” researchers said.
“In comparison to a White male barrister, being female was associated with a 28% increase in the odds of being recommended and being an ethnic minority or a solicitor was associated with a 53% decrease in the odds of being recommended.”
Looking at intersectionality, however, “we conclude that there is no additional advantage or disadvantage in judicial appointment for having combined characteristics”.
White male judges with a barrister background constituted a third of all judges overall. White male former solicitors (16%) and White female former barristers or solicitors each made up around a fifth.
When it came to social mobility – figures only reported for the first time last year [2] – lawyers who attended a UK state school had a slightly lower recommendation rate from application (11%) compared to those who attended a UK independent or fee-paying school (13%).
One in 10 applicants who reported that neither of their parents had attended university were recommended for appointment, compared to 14% of those who had at least one parent who went to university.
Applicants from a lower socio-economic background (based on the occupation of the main household earner when the candidate was aged 14) had a lower recommendation rate (8%), compared to those applicants with a professional or intermediate socio-economic background (14% and 10% respectively).
This was also shown by the drop in representation from 28% of applications to 20% of recommendations for those from a lower socio-economic background.
The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, commented: “The judiciary must attract the widest possible range of outstanding talent, drawing on excellence from every part of society to support merit-based appointments.
“We have encouraged judicial office holders to report their diversity information, and I am pleased that we now have a greater range of data to help target our efforts. This is a positive step.”
Deputy Prime Minister and justice secretary David Lammy said: “These statistics show real progress being made. But we must continue to go further to ensure talent from all backgrounds can fulfil their full potential.
“That’s why we established the Judicial and Legal Diversity Board [announced in May [3]], bringing together leaders from across the profession to break down barriers and create a judiciary that reflects modern Britain.”
Bar Council chair Kirsty Brimelow KC said she was “concerned that progress has completely stalled in terms of the proportion of Black judges”.
The new board “must interrogate why there has been no progress so we can begin to see this trend changing”.
Law Society vice-president Brett Dixon added: “The figures show that although some improvements have been made in some areas, significant progress is still required before the judiciary can truly represent the wider society.
“The representation of Black legal professionals on the bench has remained disappointingly stagnant for more than a decade, showing that efforts to make improvements are not having the desired impact. More work needs to be done…
“Solicitors are continuing to achieve appointments as judges at disproportionately low rates compared with barristers.
“Our concern remains that until this percentage significantly increases, we will struggle to persuade our members that entry to the judiciary is a level playing field or that their skills are understood and valued.”
- Sir Colin Birss, who only took over as Chancellor of the High Court last year, is to become Master of the Rolls following the retirement of Sir Geoffrey Vos at the end of October, it was announced yesterday. Lord Justice Warby is to become president of the King’s Bench Division on the retirement of Dame Victoria Sharp.