The Rule of Law and Judicial Selection: Developing a Toolkit for Improving Outcomes and Accountability in Selection Processes
This project currently has a questionnaire, which is open for responses until 7 April 2026.
This project, funded by the International Bar Association (IBA) and carried out jointly with the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, analyses how judicial selection processes can be reviewed to improve outcomes and accountability, thereby strengthening the rule of law.
By outcomes, we mean the quality (integrity, independence and professionalism) of the judges who are appointed. The quality of judges is self-evidently crucial for upholding the rule of law.
By accountability, we mean how well the selection process and its outcomes are explained to both professional communities and the broader public, and whether errors and abuses of the process can be challenged (for example through judicial review, or other oversight mechanisms such as ombudsman bodies). Accountability of judicial selection is also important to the rule of law, as it underpins public confidence in the courts and the administration of justice.
The project runs until the end of 2026. Its objective is to produce a toolkit of good practice recommendations for judicial selection processes to improve outcomes and accountability. This toolkit must be practically useful, and it will not generally require the complete redesign of the judicial selection process from start to finish. Rather, it will provide a menu of recommended actions for improving specific aspects or stages of the selection process. Recognising that constitutional and legislative changes are hard to secure, many of the recommended actions will focus on processes, policies and practices that can more readily be changed. Through action in such areas, it is possible to make some progress on problems such as patronage, nepotism, cronyism, outdated or unclear selection criteria, a lack of rigorous evaluation of candidates, and misconceptions and misunderstandings about judicial selection among the professional community and the wider public.
Practising members of the legal profession are at the heart of this project, which has been designed with input, advice or convening support from the IBA's Rule of Law Forum, Judges' Forum, Bar Issues Commission, Forum for Barristers and Advocates, Litigation Committee, Human Rights Institute and Legal Policy & Research Unit. Practising lawyers are frequently involved in selection processes, in various roles: as candidates, as members of selection bodies, or as referees or assessors called upon to evaluate candidates. Moreover, in many jurisdictions, lawyers have a particular role to play in public debates and media commentary on judicial selection issues. This responsibility is often exercised by legal professional associations and their leaders. So, the toolkit will be designed with a particular view to recommending actions that practising lawyers can take.
Opportunity to contribute
Until 7 April 2026, we are seeking input via a questionnaire from three groups: judicial selection bodies, judges and lawyers with experience of judicial selection processes (e.g. through bar associations or independently as candidates, referees or public commentators).
We would be delighted to hear from anyone belonging to these groups who would be willing to provide a response. Please send responses to the Bingham Centre's Director, Dr Jan van Zyl Smit j.vanzylsmit@binghamcentre.biicl.org.
