§ 39. Mr. VazTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will reform the system of selecting adjudicators. [70860]
§ Mr. HoonThe Lord Chancellor has no plans to change the present system of selecting Immigration Adjudicators. Immigration Adjudicator posts may be occupied on a full or part-time basis. There are no statutory qualifications for appointment as an Immigration Adjudicator. However, in practice the Lord Chancellor will normally consider only persons who hold a seven year general qualification within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, who are advocates or solicitors in Scotland, or barristers or solicitors in Northern Ireland, of not less than 7 years' standing. Part-time posts are filled by application and interview following an open advertised competition, save on a few occasions the Lord Chancellor had directly seconded serving Circuit Judges and Recorders on the recommendation of the Chief Immigration Adjudicator, His Honour Judge Dunn QC. Full-time Immigration Adjudicators are normally appointed, following application and interview, from the ranks of those who have gained sufficient experience through service as part-time Immigration Adjudicators or part-time legal members of the Immigration Appeal Tribunal.