Leading Immigration Judgesneeded

NEWS RELEASE

PN10/072December 2010

LEADING IMMIGRATION JUDGESNEEDED

Challenging leadership roles for immigration judges are being advertised by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) from today. These provide an excellent opportunity to undertake interesting work in this very topical area of law.

The JAC has been asked to recommend five people to the Lord Chancellor for immediate appointment to Designated Immigration Judge positions, and a further six for future appointment to anticipated vacancies.

The last recruitment for these offices was in 2007 and was to recommend those suitable for future vacancies only.

A Designated Immigration Judge willlead and manage a group of approximately 10 full-time immigration judges, both salaried and fee-paid. They require strong interpersonal, leadership and organisational skills to effect a collegiate environment and maintain and improve the quality and consistency of the First-tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber’s decisions, newly set up in February 2010.

Designated Immigration Judges also provide support to the Senior Immigration Judge and sit up to 15 days a year in the Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

Of the five immediate vacancies, two are in London and the remaining three are in Manchester, North Shields and Glasgow.

The future vacancies are UK wide, andthe main locations where a vacancy could arise areBirmingham, Bradford, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Newport, North Shields and Stoke-on-Trent.

For further information contact Rebecca Astles on 0203 334 0329.

Editors’ Notes

1.This exercise opened for applications on 2December 2010. Application materials are available to download from our website

2. The application window closes at noon on 13 January 2011.

3. The full title of the posts is Designated Salaried Judge of the First-tier Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber, Designated Immigration Judge.

4. These posts are open to solicitors, barristers and Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and advocates or solicitors in Scotland, with five years post qualification experience (PQE), or any person who in the Lord Chancellor’s opinion has gained experience in law which makes them as suitable for appointment as if they satisfied one of these criteria. Candidates need to be eligible and suitable for appointment to the post of Deputy Judge of the Upper Tribunal.The Lord Chancellor also normally expects candidates for these roles to have served a minimum of two years or at least 30 days sitting as an immigration judge (either salaried or fee-paid) before the closing date for applications.

5. The JAC came into existence in April 2006 with a statutory duty to select solely on merit and to have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of people applying for appointment. The JAC selects for both immediate (s87 vacancies) and future anticipated vacancies (s94 vacancies).