Two very different articles have appeared in the media recently in relation the appointment of women judges.

On 21 September 2015, in an article published by the UK Telegraph, Lexi Finnigan quoted from an interview with Lord Sumption in an article titled “No rush for more women at the top of the legal profession, says senior judge”. According to that article, in Lord Sumption’s opinion, equal numbers of female judges could inflict “appalling consequences” on the quality of British justice, the judiciary is a “terrific public asset” which could be “destroyed very easily” if the selection of candidates was skewed in favour of women, equality campaigners would need to be “patient”, and it is “rubbish” to say that the law is run by an “old boys’ network” – the lack of female judges is mainly the result of a “lifestyle choice” by women unwilling to tolerate long hours and poor working conditions.

To read the full article, go to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11880961/No-rush-for-more-women-at-the-top-of-the-legal-profession-says-senior-judge.html

On 23 September 2015, in an article published by The Australian, Sonia Kohlbacher quoted from interviews with West Australian Justice Wayne Martin, President of Women Lawyers of WA Tina McAulay and President of the Law Society of WA Elizabeth Needham in her article titled “Lack of women judges ‘tragic’”. That article points to concern that we are going backwards – that although 4 of 14 judges appointed to the Supreme Court between 1995 and 2005 were women, only one of the 18 judges appointed to that court since 2005 is a woman.

To read this article, go to http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/number-of-female-judges-tragically-low-wayne-martin/story-e6frg97x-1227539369718. Please note that you may have to subscribe to The Australian to be able to access the full article.