Deputy President of the UK Supreme Court, Lady Hale, has stressed the importance of diversity in the judiciary in a lecture to the Constitutional Law Summer School in Belfast.

She said that there are several reasons for promoting diversity.

“People should be able to feel that the courts of their country are ‘their’ courts, there to serve the whole community, rather than the interests of a narrow and privileged elite. They should not feel that one small section of society is dictating to the rest. These days, we cannot take the respect of the public for granted; it must be and be seen to be earned.”

Secondly, she cited fairness and equality, values judges themselves should embody.

Finally, she pointed out the “effective exploitation of talent coupled with effective opportunities for talented people to realise their potential.”

She added: “There are many able people in the law who for one reason or another do not see themselves as judges or who have not traditionally been seen by the system as judges but whose talents should be recognised and put to good use.”

Read the full lecture here