On 16 December 2025 the Lord Chancellor, David Lammy, made the Judicial Appointments Commission (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1335), with the agreement of the Lady Chief Justice, Carr of Walton‑on‑the‑Hill, signed on 15 December 2025. The instrument was approved by both Houses under the affirmative procedure in section 144(4) and 144(5)(e) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, comes into force on 17 December 2025, and extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The instrument amends the Judicial Appointments Commission Regulations 2013. Regulation 3 is updated so the Commission increases from 15 to 16 members. Regulation 4(1) is amended to raise the number of Commissioners other than the Chair from 14 to 15, confirming the overall increase in the Commission’s size.
Regulation 4(1)(c) is amended so that the number of Commissioners who are persons practising or employed as a lawyer rises from two to three. Regulation 4(4) is amended in parallel so that the three lawyer Commissioners must each hold a different qualification.
The Explanatory Note confirms the three specified qualifications: one barrister in England and Wales, one solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and one fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX). This change formalises representation across the Bar, solicitors and CILEX within the Commission’s membership.
The requirement that seven Commissioners be holders of judicial office is unchanged under regulation 4(1), with regulation 4(2) continuing to provide that one of these must be a senior tribunal office‑holder member. Regulation 5, which lists offices that qualify a person to be that senior tribunal office‑holder member, is expanded by this instrument.
Eligibility now includes Deputy Chamber Presidents of a chamber of the First‑tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal appointed under paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 4 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, but excludes those appointed under paragraph 5(5) to (7) on an acting or temporary basis. It also includes salaried “other members” of the Upper Tribunal appointed under paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to the 2007 Act, including those transferred in under section 31(2).
In addition, a judge of the Employment Appeal Tribunal nominated under section 22(1)(a) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 becomes eligible where that judge is within section 22(2A)(c), (d), (i) or (j) of the 1996 Act. This aligns the senior tribunal office‑holder route with current tribunal structures and roles.
The Regulations are made under paragraphs 1(b), 3B and 3C of Schedule 12 to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. They therefore adjust the statutory composition of the Commission and widen tribunal eligibility without altering the requirement for seven judicial office‑holders or the fundamental appointment framework set by the 2013 Regulations.
The Explanatory Note records that no full impact assessment has been produced, as no significant impact on the public, private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. The changes are directed at Commission composition and eligibility, rather than the Commission’s selection processes.