Selection of members of the Court

1 This section applies to a recommendation for an appointment to one of the following offices— a judge of the Supreme Court; b President of the Court; c Deputy President of the Court. 2 A recommendation may be made only by the Prime Minister. 3 The Prime Minister— a must recommend any person who is selected as a result of the convening of a selection commission under this section ; b may not recommend any other person. 4 Where a person who is not a judge of the Court is recommended for appointment as President or Deputy President, the recommendation must also recommend the person for appointment as a judge. 5 If there is a vacancy in the office of President of the Court or in the office of Deputy President of the Court, or it appears to him that there will soon be such a vacancy, the Lord Chancellor must convene a selection commission for the selection of a person to be recommended. 5A If— a the full-time equivalent number of judges of the Court is less than the maximum specified in section 23(2), or it appears to the Lord Chancellor that the full-time equivalent number of judges of the Court will soon be less than that maximum, and b the Lord Chancellor, or the senior judge of the Court, after consulting the other considers it desirable that a recommendation be made for an appointment to the office of judge of the Court, the Lord Chancellor must convene a selection commission for the selection of a person to be recommended. 5B In subsection (5A)(b) “ the senior judge of the Court ” means— a the President of the Court, or b if there is no President, the Deputy President, or c if there is no President and no Deputy President, the senior ordinary judge. 6 Schedule 8 is about selection commissions. 7 Subsections (5) and (5A) are subject to Schedule 8 (cases where duty to convene a selection commission are suspended). 7A For the purposes of this section and Schedule 8, a person is selected as a result of the convening of a selection commission if the person's selection is the final outcome of— a the selection process mentioned in section 27(1) being applied by the commission, and b any process provided for by regulations under section 27A being applied in the particular case. 8 Section 27 applies where a selection commission is convened under this section.