The main provisions of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act (TCE Act) 2007 came into force during 2008. What difference does it make to the entry requirements for judicial appointments?

This guidance should be read in conjunction with Sections 50-52 of the TCE Act; the relevant Statutory Instrument; and the specific eligibility requirements provided for each vacancy request. It concerns interpreting Sections 50-52 of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCE Act), which amend the minimum legal qualification eligibility requirements for judicial appointments in England and Wales.

The Act extends the range of people who may qualify for Judicial appointment. It also introduced the judicial-appointment eligibility condition. Where this applies, eligibility for judicial office is no longer based on possession of rights of audience for a specified period. You will have to show that:

• you possess a relevant legal qualification;
• for the requisite period; and
• that while holding that qualification you have been gaining legal experience.

The Act widens the eligibility for many judicial posts by reducing the number of years you need to have possessed the relevant legal qualification before you can apply. In respect of many offices, the number of years for which a person must have held a qualification before becoming eligible for judicial office is reduced from 10 to 7 years and 7 to 5 years depending on the post in question. Further information can be found to the right of this page.

These sections also enable the Lord Chancellor, following consultation with the Lord Chief Justice and the Judicial Appointments Commission, to extend by order the list of relevant qualifications for the purpose of the judicial appointment eligibility condition.

It opens some judicial posts beyond solicitors and barristers for the first time. The Statutory Instrument extends eligibility for judicial appointment to some judicial posts to members of the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX), the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) and Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA).

The Act made the following posts open to suitably qualified ILEX fellows:

• Deputy District Judge;
• Deputy District Judge (Magistrates Courts);
• Road User Charging Adjudicator;
• Legally qualified member of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal;
• Member of Panel of Chairmen of the Employment Tribunal;
• Judge of the First Tier Tribunal; and
• Adjudicators (regulation 17 Civil Enforcement of Parking Conventions).

From 2010 ILEX fellows will be able to apply for the following posts:

• District Judge;
• District Judge (Magistrates Courts).

Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys will be eligible as soon as the instrument is accepted to apply for the following posts:

• Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Copyright Tribunal; and
• Persons appointed to hear and determine appeals under the Trade Marks Act 1994.