Five commissioners appointed to the Judicial Appointments Commission
His Majesty The King, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, has approved the appointment of 5 commissioners to the Judicial Appointments Commission.
His Majesty The King, on the advice of the Lord Chancellor, has approved the appointment of the following as commissioners of the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for a term of 3 years from 1 January 2024.
Those appointed are:
- Christopher Bones (lay Commissioner)
- Anthony Harnden (lay Commissioner)
- Clare McGlynn (lay Commissioner)
- Noel Arnold (judicial Commissioner)
- Uchechi Igbokwe (non-legally qualified judicial Commissioner)
The JAC is an independent body that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales, and for some tribunals with UK-wide jurisdiction. Candidates are selected on merit, through fair and open competition.
JAC Commissioners are appointed, under Schedule 12(1) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, by His Majesty The King on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. Commissoner appointments comply with the provisions of the Judicial Appointment Commission Regulations 2013.
Biographies
Christopher Bones
Since 2018, Chair of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and is a Non-Executive Director (NED) at three other organisations. He is a non-lawyer who has been appointed to expert and advisory Panels and worked on Lord Bellamy’s Criminal Legal Aid Review. Has been a Member of the Criminal Legal Aid Advisory Board from 2022-2023.
Anthony Harnden
He has worked as a Principal in General Practice at Morland House Surgery, Wheatley Oxfordshire for 33 years. He is a Professor of Primary Care at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford and Honorary Fellow of St Hugh’s College. Since 2006 he has been the GP member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises the UK government on vaccine policy and in 2015 was appointed Deputy Chairman; and since 2017 he has been a registrant Council member of the General Medical Council (GMC) and for the past 3 years has been Chairman of the GMC Remuneration Committee.
Clare McGlynn
Since 2004, Professor of Law at the University of Durham with particular expertise in the legal regulation of online abuse and sexual offending. Clare was appointed an honorary King’s Counsel in 2020 in recognition of her work championing equality in the legal profession and the influence of her research in shaping new criminal laws. In 2019, she was appointed a member of Parliament’s Independent Expert Panel.
Noel Arnold
Noel became a Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) in April 2020 having previously been appointed as a fee-paid First-tier judge in the same jurisdiction. Noel was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in April 2006. He was the Co-chair of the Association of Lawyers for Children from 2017 to 2019 and was a committee member of the Law Society’s Children Law sub-committee for 10 years. He currently sits on the Senior President of Tribunal’s Diversity Task Force.
Uchechi Igbokwe
Uche, since 2004, works as a consultant histopathologist for Barking, Havering and Redbridge (BHR) University Hospitals NHS. In 2018 BHR University Hospitals NHS Trust appointed Uche as Clinical Lead for histopathology and Pathology Clinical Director until March 2024. He was appointed a magistrate in 2006 and for over 10 years has been a presiding justice in both the adult criminal court and the family panel.