Judge given green light to challenge failed promotion bid by Court of Appeal
A judge has been given the green light to challenge a decision not to promote her after winning a Court of Appeal bid.
District Judge Kate Thomas brought legal action against the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), which oversees the appointment of judges in England and Wales after she failed in a bid to become a more senior circuit judge.
She claimed that the selection process was unfair and that the JAC had misinterpreted the rules around selection.
Two High Court judges previously refused her bid to bring the claim last year.
Judge Thomas challenged one of the refusals in the Court of Appeal, with three appeal judges unanimously agreeing on Thursday that she should be allowed to bring her claim.
I have borne in mind the importance of this case, and the public interest in maintaining a scrupulously fair and transparent judicial appointments process
In a judgment in London, Sir Geoffrey Vos said it was in the public interest to allow her appeal.
Giving his ruling, which was backed by Lord Justice Underhill and Lady Justice Nicola Davies, he said: “In reaching this conclusion, I have borne in mind the importance of this case, and the public interest in maintaining a scrupulously fair and transparent judicial appointments process.”
He continued: “I feel, in the exceptional circumstances of this case, the challenges brought to the process by the appellant would be better considered on all the evidence at a full judicial review hearing.”
He added: “The consultation process… is critical to the fairness and transparency of judicial appointments in England and Wales.
“There needs to be complete public confidence in it.
“It is better, therefore, for these challenges to be considered at a full hearing.”
Judge Thomas became a district judge sitting at Walsall County Court in 2018 and applied to become a circuit judge in 2021.
The JAC informed her she had not been successful in April 2022, but she received conflicting feedback from the body over the following months.
She began a legal challenge last year, with a previous hearing told she felt she had been “blackballed”.
In his ruling on Thursday, Sir Geoffrey said: “It is very much in the public interest for the fairness of the JAC’s procedure to be examined at a full hearing.”
He later agreed with one of the previous judges that “the appellant’s treatment by the JAC was ‘very unfortunate indeed’.”
The case is expected to be heard at a two-day hearing later this year.
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