Parliament and Whitehall

摘要

Accountancy's November 2006 issue (p117) carried a short note that the government was consulting on safeguards to be introduced under arrangements to allow judges to leave the bench and return to legal practice if they wished. It has now been announced that this suggested development will not proceed. The object was to make the office of judge more attractive and lead to diversity in applicants. Judges are, in general, less well paid than top barristers and solicitors, and yet those who take up judicial posts do so for life and do not return to practice. This will continue to be the case following opposition to the government's proposals from the judiciary itself, basically because it would damage judicial independence.