Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Bill [Lords]
Debate between James Cartlidge and Yasmin QureshiWednesday 12th December 2018
(6 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018 View all Courts and Tribunals (Judiciary and Functions of Staff) Act 2018 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: Consideration of Bill Amendments as at 12 December 2018 - (12 Dec 2018)
Yasmin Qureshi
These people will be performing judicial tasks and functions and so will need to be appropriately qualified, which is why we have tabled the amendments.
James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)
It is my understanding that these are mainly interlocutory functions, not actual judgments or significant judicial functions.
Yasmin Qureshi
No, as we understand it, although it is envisaged that some of these tasks will be procedural, others will be very important to people whose rights are affected. We might think, for example, that requests for adjournments are straightforward, but they are not. As practitioners and former practitioners will know, they can be complicated, because when a judge decides whether to grant one, they take into consideration a host of things, so it is important that the person be appropriately qualified.
We accept that the procedure rule committee will be able to iron out some of the questions about what are judicial and what are administrative functions, but the main thing is that these people will be carrying out judicial functions and deciding some difficult issues, and it is only appropriate that they be qualified and appropriately experienced.