ABSTRACT
The task ahead of me of completing a discourse on the qualifications and training of judicial officers and their gender balance, a subject upon which volumes have been written, speeches made and numerous debates held, is daunting. My attempt to do justice to these subjects brings to mind the words of that well known feminist Samuel Johnson:
The discussion must start from the premise that judicial independence is a principle which exists to enable judges to deliver impartial justice, freed from any improper pressure and influence from any source. As a rule, judges will think first of improper pressure which might be applied from an external source such as parliament, the media or lobby groups. There is, however, another influence which I suggest is a more insidious, potentially harmful and complex obstacle to judicial impartiality. The predisposition to particular world views in every human being is the product of life experiences which influence decision-making. Each judge on appointment, promises to do justice to all people without fear or favour, affection or ill will. The ongoing attempt to do just that in spite of our in-built prejudices, be they conservative or liberal, is an almost insuperable hurdle to delivering even-handed justice. Selecting the right judicial material, striving to have a balance of appropriately qualified judges and training those judges is one way of ensuring that natural prejudices, many of which we judges will believe are positive, are recognised and confronted.
