joanne peel
head of hr for the judiciary
Mr V Zinser
Via Email-
17th March 2015
Freedom of Information Request - 96131
Dear Mr Zinser,
Thank you for your email of 17th February, in which you asked for the following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):
“I would like to know how Family Court Judges get nominated and qualified for the job (especially cases concerning children)
Kindly let me know the requirements to become a judge:
(01) are they selected by application of somehow nominated ?
(02) required previous work experience ?
(03) qualification in mediation ?
(04) qualification in Adult Child Psychology (e.g. as every child, according to COE rules, is entitled to talk to the judge and the judge has to listen to the child http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/childjustice/Source/GuidelinesChildFriendlyJustice_EN.pdf) ?
(05) having the qualification to be able to select child specialists ?
(06) rules to avoid revolving door issues ? http://www.transparency.org.uk/publications/7-uncategorised/download/90_a20925fab670c8efcaef3b59c3d56dfb ?
(07) working as Deputy Judge, is this a full time employment and how independent is this position ? How independent are they in a temporary position ?
(08) requirements on qualification for different court levels (magistrates courts, county courts, the high court, appeal court)
(09) training after nomination ?
(10) training on working documents for courts like 'What the Family Courts expect from Parents': http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/Protocols/pd-what-the-family-cts-expect-from-parents.pdf
(11) required qualification in international binding law like:
(11.1) Human Rights ? https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/European_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Human_Rights_and_Fundamental_Freedoms,
(11.2) Brussels IIa EC2201/2003 (European Union Law) ? http://www.europeancivillaw.com/brusselstwo2003leg.htm
(11.3) the 1980 Convention On Recognition And Enforcement Of Decisions Concerning Custody ? http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/105.htm
(11.4) the 'The Hague Child Abduction' ? https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Civil_Aspects_of_International_Child_Abduction
(11.5) United Nations (UN) Convention on the Right of the Child ? http://unicef.org.uk/Documents/Publication-pdfs/UNCRC_PRESS200910web.pdf
(12) Training to deal with Litigants in Person (LIP) as they have less knowledge ?
(13) knowledge and research in:
(13.1) UK Case Law (as most decisions are hidden means not published) ?, http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/site.aspx?i=fo6
(13.2) European Union Case law ? http://curia.europa.eu/juris/recherche.jsf?language=en
(13.3) Council of Europe Case law (Human Rights Court Strasbourg) ? http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/”
Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
I have assessed your request for information, and unfortunately I will not be able to answer it without further clarification. Section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information Act does not oblige us to answer requests where we require further clarification to identify and locate the information requested. We are unable to answer your request unless you provide us with further information.
In order to help ensure that I provide you with the right information, I would be grateful if you could clarify your request. I would be grateful if you would clarify which particular type of Judicial Office Holder you are enquiring about – for eg: a District Judge, Circuit Judge, High Court Judge etc.
Upon receipt of this information I will be in a position to continue with the processing of your request.
You may find the following information helpful in clarifying your request:
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) are a separate public authority under the FOI Act and the JAC provides a fair and transparent process for selecting candidates for (salaried and fee-paid) judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and for some posts in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their website provides details of the eligibility requirements for each vacancy. Their website can be found at: https://jac.judiciary.gov.uk/
You can also make FOI requests to the JAC directly, by emailing:
·
Once appointed, Judges are required to undertake continuation training post-appointment.
Judges who deal with either private or public law children cases are authorised to hear such cases by the President of the Family Division. Authorisation is dependant on the judge completing the appropriate Judicial College induction course and completing a period of sitting in with an experienced judge.
You can also find more information by reading the full text of the Act (available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/contents).
You have the right to appeal our decision if you think it is incorrect. Details can be found in the ‘How to Appeal’ section attached at the end of this letter.
Disclosure Log
You can also view information that the Ministry of Justice has disclosed in response to previous Freedom of Information requests. Responses are anonymised and published on our on-line disclosure log which can be found on the MoJ website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/series/freedom-of-information-disclosure-log
Yours sincerely
Joanne Peel
How to Appeal
Internal Review
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to an internal review. The handling of your request will be looked at by someone who was not responsible for the original case, and they will make a decision as to whether we answered your request correctly.
If you would like to request a review, please write or send an email within two months of the date of this letter to the Data Access and Compliance Unit at the following address:
Data Access and Compliance Unit (10.34),
Information & Communications Directorate,
Ministry of Justice,
102 Petty France,
London
SW1H 9AJ
E-mail:
Information Commissioner’s Office
If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Commissioner is an independent regulator who has the power to direct us to respond to your request differently, if he considers that we have handled it incorrectly.
You can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Internet address: http://www.ico.org.uk/
EXPLANATION OF FOIA – SECTION 1(3) - FURTHER INFORMATION REQUIRED IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY AND LOCATE THE INFORMATION REQUESTED.
We have provided below additional information about Section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information Act. We have included some extracts from the legislation, as well as some of the guidance we use when applying it. We hope you find this information useful.
The legislation
Section 1: General right of access to information held by public authorities.
(1) Any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled—
(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request, and
(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.
(2) Subsection (1) has effect subject to the following provisions of this section and to the provisions of sections 2, 9, 12 and 14.
(3) Where a public authority—
(a) reasonably requires further information in order to identify and locate the information requested, and
(b) has informed the applicant of that requirement,
the authority is not obliged to comply with subsection (1) unless it is supplied with that further information.
Guidance
Is the request clear and specific?
If the request is unclear or vague, the public authority is obliged to provide reasonable assistance to the person who made the request.
This means more than simply telling them that their request is not specific enough, the public authority should take reasonable steps to provide assistance to the requester. The aim should be to assist the requester to refine their request so that it becomes specific enough for the public authority to identify the information they want. Once the original request has been clarified, the public authority can continue to process the request in line with the Freedom of Information Act.
Thomas More Building, 11th Floor, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL
Telephone 020 7073 1628 Fax 020 7073 1631 Email
Executive Assistant, Susan Holleran Telephone 020 7073 1604 Email
Website www.judiciary.gov.uk