Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is launching a £1 million recruitment drive to appoint over 4,000 new magistrates across the UK, to help tackle the backlog of criminal cases caused by the pandemic. A key aim for the campaign is to diversify the bench - and we want to share details of current magistrates who are working with us on this such as Ibrahim Ilyas (24 years old) from Birmingham, who is of Pakistani heritage and was appointed as one of the youngest Justice of the Peace at the age of 19. An aspiring barrister, Ibrahim is currently studying the Bar course at the University of Law (Birmingham) but wants to raise awareness that you don’t need a degree or any legal experience to become a magistrate.
The MoJ is not only looking to increase the pool of people coming forward but to continue to diversify the magistracy so that it is more representative of the communities it serves. As of April 2021, just 13% of sitting magistrates were Black, Asian and minority ethnic - we are working with magistrates from ethnic minority backgrounds who want to encourage others who think the role might be suitable for them to apply.
Baljit Atwal from South Derbyshire is of Indian heritage and has been a magistrate for 5 years. She became a magistrate in order to give back to her local community and to bring her background and knowledge into the mix. In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, she spoke about her journey and challenges of being a woman in power.
In your experience as a magistrate, how far do you think the law has come in Britain when it comes to delivering justice?
As magistrates, we are a permanent part of the justice system and sometimes is difficult to estimate the contribution magistrates’ courts make to their local communities. We sit each and every day to help to make our communities safer and more secure. We show fairness, decisiveness and the ability to apply reason and common sense. In carrying out our duties, magistrates make a tremendous contribution to the safety and prosperity of the country. There are areas where we can and must improve, we are definitely on a journey we would love others to join us on.
What are the challenges of being a woman in power as a magistrate?
I am not a fan of defining what a human being can professionally achieve based on their gender. I think the sky is the limit for everybody. However, as a Magistrate, married woman and mother in full-time employment has had its challenges at times. During the 5 years of being a magistrate, I have been supported and encouraged to take on additional roles to play on my strengths from becoming a Presiding Justice to now as I embark on a new role as Deputy Chairman.
What are challenges if not opportunities to grow and develop into better versions of yourself? Would you recommend more women to join the judicial services? If yes, why?
Women are represented in the judiciary, the last diversity statistics which were published in September 2020 show that 56% of sitting magistrates were women. So, yes I would absolutely recommend more women to join the judicial services as having more women serve in these roles helps to build the inclusivity, fairness, transparency, and representation of the people that the judicial system stands for.
Sitting with different people with different ways of thinking helps you develop as a person and trains you to think logically. Being a magistrate has opened my eyes to the way different people live their lives; everybody lives their lives differently, and you see everybody at their worst and at their best, and in the middle.
What does it mean for you to be a woman of Indian origin, delivering justice in the UK? How does your family look at your achievements?
On a daily basis, magistrates make decisions that will shape the lives of individuals for years to come, and for the vast majority of those accused of a crime, the Magistrates Court will be their only sight of the criminal justice system. Therefore it is vital that magistrates should represent the communities they serve if trust in the criminal justice system is to be maintained. I became a magistrate in order to give back to my local community and to bring my background (Indian Origin) and knowledge into the mix in order to add value to the judicial system, how can be family be nothing but proud of me.
Please give a message to our readers and tell them why more people from ethnic minorities must diversify the bench.
The lack of a diverse judiciary is having a detrimental impact on defendants’ confidence that they will have a fair hearing. They may feel that the bench they trust to make decisions about them don’t represent the community they are part of. Making them feel that their culture and what they have gone through is not taken into account, there is no common ground at all. This is why it’s important that anyone who appears before the bench feels that it’s representative and might have an understanding of their world, making our communities better and safer places to live.
If you are interested in the role, visit icanbeamagistrate.co.uk for more information on the role and how to apply.
