How should judges be appointed?

If how = on what grounds

If we take this to mean - 'on what grounds should somebody be appointed a judge,' as with any position, it is usually judged best to appoint somebody on merit.  There may be, however, some debate as to what constitutes merit - pointedly, whether it is success in cases, academic repute, or years in service, but regardless; the best candidates should get the job.  However, in recent years, there has been increased debate as to whether the gender or ethnic minority of the judge in question should allow them to gain some weight over other candidates - i.e. judges should be appointed due to experience gained by natural or cultural differences.  Some studies have shown that female judges, for example, are likely to judge in a differing way to their male counterparts in issues of family and children - and this might be seen as favourable, or otherwise.  It should be argued that while having as many varieties of cultures and opinions in the profession might be seen as an expression of society, there needs to be some solidarity within the beliefs of the top judges - magistrates are supposed to follow precedent and not be seen as acting "out of the norm," and this must be seen to carry throughout the profession - with the principle that a case could be brought before any number of judges and reach the same judgement. 

If how = in what way

There is also some argument hinging on who appoints judges and how the system of appointments should be made.  For example, should judges be appointed by a system of government, should this be by election by peers, or should there be some independent commission to complete this task?  In this case, we might immediately reject the idea of the government selecting these judges, after all, the whole idea of a 'separation of powers' entirely relies on an independence of the judiciary from the legislature.  It would be difficult to argue that the system is entirely independent if the top jobs were allocated by the government, and as such, the top lawyers trying to curry favour with the top politicians.  A legal system, indeed, is to hold the legislature - to some extent - to account, and it requires such independence to achieve this.  A free and fair election, to some, might also be seen as preferable; with some degree of transparency.  However, if we look at how society sees politicians, often as corrupt and not to be trusted - it might be seen that this type of system does not guarantee high quality people in the highest positions.  We might even argue that the "common man" is neither interested enough nor educated enough in law to make such a decision - if we take the low turn out at mayoral elections and the AV referendum in 2011 as an example, and even low turnouts at general elections, then we might argue that it would be irresponsible to put such an important decision in the hands of the uninterested commons. 

Conclusion

Therefore, such an important decision should be left in the hands of those who are most directly affected by it: every day, lawyers refer to judgments as precedents in everyday cases, and would therefore have a vested interest in electing competent and effective judges.  Judges elected by their peers would most likely be the most knowledgeable, personable and have the best track record - those who work beside them or have read articles written by them would be the most qualified to judge their merit, and to decide whether they would be best suited to the role.

Climbing the Mine at Honister

Today my sister Rebekah and I scaled the inside of Honister slate mine with their new experience, the 'Subterranean Climb the Mine.'


At £29.95 per adult (over 16s), this two hour experience was absolutely value for money.  In part, I think that this was because there were only three of us when we completed the course, and with spaces available for 12 people per excursion, I can imagine that there could be long periods of waiting for the person ahead or behind to move on or catch up.  For me, however, this was a fantastic experience - I'm not afraid of heights, and some level of agility was needed, especially in the first section of the climb which was the most physically challenging.

Our instructor, Adam, was an absolute delight - he talked us through the climb stage by stage, and was really helpful when my sister had a little trouble with the height and the frosty cold bars that we had to hold on to (grippy gloves would definitely be recommended!), and he helped hoist her down, and she then joined us on the next section.

After the first difficult climb, we climbed a metal ladder (while attaching ourselves with caribina clips onto wire loops) and onto a tightrope with two handrails either side.  We traversed this (see picture below) and then worked our way around a corner.

From here, we went up a fairly extensive ladder, and up to another tightrope - this one was a bit more difficult, with only a loose rope to hold onto.  I found, personally, focusing on the tightrope itself allowed me to move fairly smoothly along.

Once we'd climbed across this second tightrope, we walked through the mine for a little while, walking across a plank over a drop (once again clipped onto a wire) and through some fairly low tunnels.  The tunnels, incidentally, were a bit breezy - so I'd definitely recommend wearing a jumper and a windproof coat/mac.

We then climbed down a fairly steep tunnel/shaft.  There were hand-holes, bars and climbing holds everywhere, and plenty of places to put your feet.  This was the last bit of climbing of the experience, but it was fairly extensive - really made me realise how high in the mine we'd climbed earlier!

When we finished and left the mine, it was tipping it down with rain - if it's a rainy day in the Lake District, and you want a challenge, this is definitely something I'd recommend - those completing the Via Ferrata (which I did about 2 years ago) would (and did, today) get soaked through, and a similar experience can be achieved with the mine climb, staying significantly drier.  We caught the Honister bus back to the mine, returned all of our kit, and had a cup of tea.  All of the photos were taken by our instructor, Adam, and could be bought for £15 at the reception desk when we finished.  You can have a look on the screen by reception to double check that they're worth buying, but it's always good to memorialise an experience like this, that you might only ever do once!

 A big thank you to everybody at Honister who had a part in arranging this experience, and especially to our instructor, Adam, who was fantastically helpful and a fountain of climbing knowledge.  Would definitely do this again!

Community Assets and Blencathra

What are Community Assets, and what does this mean for Blencathra?

Credit for this photo goes to borrowdalehouse.co.uk "Blencathra from Catbells"

Simply put, a community asset is an area of land or a building owned by a community organisation.  This was implemented under the Localism Act in 2011 - community groups or parish councils can recommend "assets" to the community list held by the council.  In this case, because it is already owned by a private individual, this Act gives the community group up to 6 months to raise the money to make a higher bid than the one currently accepted - but by no means does this mean that they will raise the necessary amount of money, nor does it guarantee them the sale.

However, bear in mind that the successful bid this week was said to be "significantly" higher than the alternative bids, and the asking price - the tax that is being paid off by the sale was £9million, and any bid would need to be as close to this as possible in order to be successful - Friends of Blencathra would have to raise a significant amount of money in order to buy the mountain.

To find out more about the Localism Act, click here!