Review considers shake-up of federal judicial appointments

The process of appointing federal judges would be kept less secret and the government would be forced to publish annual statistics on the diversity of the judiciary, including gender and ethnicity, when proposals from Australia’s top legal reform agency are considered.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) was asked last September to conduct a review of the impartiality of the judiciary, including whether the existing legal mechanisms for bringing allegations against a judge are “sufficient and adequate”.

Attorney General Michaelia Cash will receive the final report from the ALRC in September.Recognition:Alex Ellinghausen

In a consultation paper published on Friday, the ALRC asked 25 questions and suggestions for further discussion.

A second round of consultation is expected to take place in June and July before a final report is presented to Attorney General Michaelia Cash by September 30th.

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Proposals for further consultation include calling for the federal government to “commit to a more transparent process for the appointment of federal judicial officers that includes a call for expressions of interest” and the publication of selection criteria.

The procedure, which would also apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, should explicitly aim at “creating an appropriately qualified pool of candidates who reflect the diversity of the community,” the proposal says. https://mostbet-games.net/pt-br/

Currently, federal court appointments, including federal court and AAT appointments, are made by the Attorney General without a formal advisory process.

The report also examines whether the attorney general should “provide annual statistics on the diversity of federal justice, including at least data on ethnicity, gender, age and professional background”.

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