RESTRICTED
involved in the propositio
that the practising Bar should be engülted
30/2
Gn-tha-Aipat
Extract from Note of a meeting between the Bar Committee and Mr. J. C. McPetrie on Friday 27th and Monday 30th November, 1964 at the Legal Department.
Appointments of Puisne Judges from Practising Bar
The Committee suggested that members of the practising Bar
should not be excluded from appointment to the Supreme Court Bench.
They
did not suggest that the present systen under which members of the Legal
and Judicial services are appointed to the Supreme Court Bench should be
discontinued, but wore asking only that when a vacancy occurred nembers
of the practising Bar should be considered along with other candidates.
They were not pressing for an immediate appointment to be made from the
Bar. They were only concerned that it should be accepted in principle
that members of the practising Bar would be eligible for consideration.
Mr. McPetrie said that there were precedents in other territories for
naking appointments to the Supreme Court Bench from members of the
practising Bar. He pointed out, however, that in those territories it
was generally true to say that members of the practising Bar were also
recruited more freely into the lower judicial posts. Mr. McPetric said
that, as he understood it, there was at the moment nothing in law to
preclude a member of the practising Bar from being appointed to the
Supree Court Bench. He would, however, give further thought to the
representations of the Committee.