§ Mr. McDonnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what challenges the United Kingdom Government have made to other member states' nominations to judicial positions within(a) the European Court of Justice and (b) the European Court of Human Rights in the last five years. [15023]
§ Mr. Doug Henderson(a) None. Judicial appointments to the European Court of Justice are made by common accord of the governments of the Member States.
(b) Judges are elected to the European Court of Human Rights by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We have not previously challenged judicial nominations, nor is there any formal procedure for doing so. An informal procedure has now been agreed, at our suggestion, for the examination of prospective candidatures for the new Protocol 11 Court of Human Rights.