This month we received the discussion paper recommending retirement at 72. You may recall I wrote about this in April and observed that the United Kingdom had moved to a 75 age for retirement. Read the article here. A shortage of barristers and judges is hampering their efforts to reduce the backlog of trials, especially as the Boris Johnson–led government announced longer sitting days and the opening of more temporary courts.
In a speech earlier this month, the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, blamed the lack of judges across the justice system on “years of budgetary squeezes”. The lack of judges was caused by the “government’s 50 per cent slashing of the budget for recorders” (part-time judges) over the two years before the pandemic.
We must not become trapped in similar circumstances. If we do nothing the inevitability is the lack of judges and courtrooms and staff will overwhelm the justice system. The sensible compromise suggested by Kos and Inglis of extending retirement to 72 is wise as it adopts a whole of bench for the whole of life approach to judicial service. The District Court judges agree, you can read their submission filed last week here.
What is not so obvious is that by extending judicial service for two years you obtain the best use of an already resourced, experienced judicial cohort over a shorter duration than the longer period required to train, develop, and deploy a new judge. That must represent a considerable cost saving. It also means the wisdom and experience of senior judges is not lost prematurely and remains available to deploy as required. However, to retain that talent and maintain its vitality you must nurture it.
LtCol (Retd) Simon Ewing-Jarvie coined the phrase and concept The Long Handshake to describe the best way to care for the armed forces. He talks about remaining in contact with an individual in some way, on their terms, so that they never lose the feeling of connectedness over their years of military service and into retirement. A long handshake is like the touching of foreheads in a hongi it embraces our shared connection. It also reflects our JANZ mantra: you are not alone.
We must adopt this “whole of bench for the whole of life” approach. We must build pathways of judicial service that encourage judges to achieve their full potential. Judges should be encouraged to engage with their judicial and legal community, to research, write, or teach at home and abroad. The long handshake in practice might allow any judge to move seamlessly between full-time and part-time duties, and to engage in work as navigators and mentors. Rather than shoving experienced and senior judges out the door, we should make an especial effort to assure their connection with the bench they served so well for so long. JANZ is working on ways to better transition judges into retirement so their demobbing is not as brutal as it now appears to be.
As for nurturing. Social connections are a key protective factor for our well-being. A collegial approach must be adopted for attendance at significant seminars and ceremonial occasions. Flexible leave rules must be developed for a better work/life balance. Judicial career planning at recognised milestones should be an additional component. That planning of a pathway for judicial service could assist judges and their families not only at induction but also fiveyearly intervals. Lets talk about this and more at Wairakei. Have you registered for the weekend of 24 September? Like to come along? Contact Lara at admin@janz.nz
Nāku noa, nā
Gerard Winter
President