The JAC selects candidates for judicial office through fair and open competition.  It is responsible for making appointment recommendations to the Lord Chancellor.

Under the Constitutional Reform Act (CRA) 2005, Parliament gave the JAC very specific duties in regard to the selection of Judges.  Its statutory responsibilities are:

• to select candidates solely on merit; 
• to select only people of good character; and
• to have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for judicial selection.

Merit is the bedrock of the JAC's selection process.  Once appointed, Judges have security of position, a principle on which judicial independence rests.  This means the decision to appoint a judicial office holder must be the right one in every case. 

The CRA also requires the JAC to "have regard to the need to encourage applications from a wider range of candidates".

The JAC is committed to ensuring that it makes selections from as wide a field as possible and it works closely with a range of organisations to ensure that eligible candidates are aware of the opportunities and have the information they need to apply. 

Who the JAC selects

The JAC is responsible for recommending candidates to all judicial offices listed in Schedule 14 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 as well as to the offices of the Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls, President of the Queen's Bench Division, President of the Family Division, Chancellor of the High Court, Lords Justices of Appeal and High Court Judges.

The full list includes both fee paid and salaried roles as well as positions not requiring a legal background.

Scottish appointments are primarily made by The Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland and those in Northern Ireland by The Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission.  The JAC does not select Magistrates.