Until now, the committees that advise the Lord Chancellor on such appointments have been able to keep the names of their members secret. By December 31 this year, however, a published list of members will be compulsory. If this new spirit of openness, along with the national advertising for justices, which has been going on since 1985, encourages more ordinary people to apply, it will do nothing but good. That the image is far from the reality seems to make little difference. In more than 15 years on the bench, I have yet to see a be-hatted lady or a blimpish colonel.
Colleagues range from teachers and doctors to builders and shop-floor workers.
There are academics and social workers. Getting time off work is the main problem. Men between 35 and 45 are thin on the ground but these are the people whose companies look at them sideways if they want time off for such voluntary work. A Post Office worker I knew who had to give up part of his holidays to fulfil the 26 days a year compulsory for justices in inner London was not so lucky. And the employment situation makes it more and more difficult as employers become stricter about allowing time for sittings.