4. Assessments and confidentiality
Lawyer candidates only are assessed by the committees. Extensive consultations in both the legal and non legal community are undertaken by the committee in respect of each applicant.
Professional competence and overall merit are the primary qualifications. Committee members are provided with Assessment Criteria for evaluating fitness for the bench; these relate to professional competence and experience, personal characteristics, and potential impediments to appointment. Committees are encouraged to respect diversity and to give due consideration to all legal experience, including that outside a mainstream legal practice. Broad consultations by the committees, and community involvement through these consultations, are essential elements of the process.
The committees are asked to assess candidates on the basis of three categories - "recommended", "highly recommended" or "unable to recommend" for appointment. These categories reflect the advisory nature of the committee process. Once the assessment has been completed, candidates are notified of the date they were assessed by the committee but are not provided with the results of the assessment. The results are kept confidential and solely for the Minister’s use.
The committees set their own agenda as required, depending on the number of applications received and the judicial vacancies to be filled by the Minister of Justice. When completing and submitting their application, candidates should consider that definite Committee meeting dates are not always set in advance and it may take from one to three months to process an application before sending it to the committee for assessment.
Following receipt of the committee’s assessment, the Minister may at his discretion seek further information from the committee on any candidate. On those occasions when a committee’s advice may be contrary to the information received from other sources by the Minister, the Minister may ask the committee for a reassessment of the candidate.
| << go back to 3. Judicial Advisory Committees | go to 5. Duration of assessments >> |
