Welsh Justice in Supreme Court should be considered, review says

Jenny Rowe

The appointment of a “Welsh Justice” to the Supreme Court should be considered in the future, according to the chief executive’s review of the selection commission.

Jenny Rowe, chief executive of the Supreme Court, looked at the non-statutory aspects of the selection process in her new review, which included a consultation of 28 statutory consultees, selection commission members, advisers and academics.

In her final report, she wrote: “The majority of responses suggested that it would be necessary to have a ‘Welsh Justice’ at some point, but that the time might not yet have arrived.

“There were exceptions to this point on timing with some strong views that Wales should be represented now in the same way as Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

The Supreme Court currently has two justices from Scotland and one from Northern Ireland.

Although some respondents questioned whether there was a “sufficiently defined body of specifically Welsh law, and consequent Welsh cases”, Ms Rowe said there was “an important question of the Court having the confidence of the communities it serves”.

She said there “is a certain amount of asymmetry at present” due to the appointment of justices for the UK’s other nations.

However, she pointed out that some respondents felt geographical diversity should not take precedence over “other forms of diversity and the related issue of public confidence”.

The Supreme Court will, in the short term, continue its ”current pragmatic solution” to the asymmetry by bringing in an acting judge “who is seen as Welsh for any cases which come from Wales”.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Government said it would support a move to appoint a Welsh justice, which it sees as “long overdue”.