Structure of a Competition

Structure of a Competition 

JABS fulfils its statutory responsibility to recommend individuals for judicial office through a series of selection exercises, referred to as competitions.

Appointment to judicial office is a competitive process. While the details vary depending on the judicial office being recruited for, all competitions follow six broad stages:

1.    Planning
2.    Advertising and applications
3.    Sift
4.    Consultations
5.    Interview
6.    Recommendation

Competitions are undertaken by a panel of either four or six members, depending on the office being recruited. Membership of competition panels is determined by the JABS Chairing Member.  

For Tribunal competitions, the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008 requires that at least one members of the Scottish Tribunals is to take part as a panel member.  

For court and legal tribunal roles, panels are chaired by a lay member and include an equal number of lay and legal or judicial members. For non-legal tribunal competitions, specialist tribunal members may sit on the panel to provide subject-matter expertise. 

Starting a Competition

A competition begins when JABS receives an official request from the Scottish Government to recruit for a judicial office.
The request sets out key information about the recruitment exercise, including:

•    the judicial office being recruited for
•    the number of vacancies
•    the location of vacancies (where applicable)

JABS also receives a Role Profile which describes the particular judicial office and the requirements for it, along with helpful information about the role including terms and conditions and statements from sitting judicial office holders.

Once the request has been received, planning for the competition begins. 

Planning and Outreach

Early in the planning stage, a competition panel of either four or six members (depending on the office being recruited for) is established by JABS Chairing Member and the assessment approach is developed.

Working with the Judicial Office for Scotland the panel refines the qualities, skills and experience required for the role. It then finalises the application form, and guidance note for candidates which outline the assessment criteria to be used for the competition.

The panel is supported by the JABS Business Management Unit, which helps with the administration of the competition.

JABS, in conjunction with Judicial Office and with the involvement of sitting judicial office holders undertakes outreach activity before applications open. This may include online information events, videos published on the JABS YouTube channel, or a combination of both. These activities are intended to help potential applicants understand the role and the recruitment process. 

Advertising and Applications

All competitions are normally advertised for four weeks.

Applications are submitted through the JABS online recruitment portal, GetGot. Applicants can save their progress and return to their application as often as they wish before submitting it.

Applications usually close at 12 noon on the advertised closing date. Applicants who have started an application will receive automated reminders before the deadline.

JABS does not normally accept late applications. Further information is available in the Late Applications Policy. 

Sift

After applications close, JABS first checks that applicants meet any statutory eligibility requirements for the role.

Applications that meet these requirements proceed to the sift stage, where they are assessed against the published criteria for the role.

To support a fair assessment process, panel members do not see applicants' names or other identifying information during the sift.  Diversity information is also removed and not visible to panel members at this stage.

For court and legal tribunal roles, legal competence is assessed by the legal or judicial members of the panel, while personal and judicial qualities are assessed by the full panel. For tribunal roles requiring specialist knowledge, specialist panel members contribute to the assessment.

Once all applications have been considered, the panel decides which candidates will be invited to interview.

Depending on the size of the competition, this stage may take several days or several weeks to complete.  Large competitions may result in more than 100 applications being submitted. 

More information about how decisions are reached can be found in our guide to the decision-making process.
 

[Potential to have a video of a Board member speaking about the sift process here]

Consultations

JABS consults with a number of organisations about the candidates who are invited to interview. Some of these consultees are asked about character and professional conduct matters  These include the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Law Society of Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates and Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. 

Other consultees including the Lord President, Sheriffs Principal, President of the Scottish Tribunals or Presidents of UK Tribunals (as appropriate) are asked for information regarding character, conduct and competence, including suitability for the judicial role being sought. 

Where information is received that may be relevant to the panel's assessment, applicants will be given an opportunity to respond to it during their interview.

Candidates invited to interview must also complete an Enhanced Disclosure check through Disclosure Scotland. The disclosure costs £25 and must be paid by the candidate. Before the disclosure can be submitted, the JABS Business Management Unit will carry out an identity check, usually through a short MS Teams meeting.

In addition, JABS arranges social media and wider media background checks through its screening partner, Giant Screening.

Interviews

Interviews provide the panel with an opportunity to explore candidates' suitability for judicial office in greater depth.

Interviews assess candidates' legal knowledge and skills or, for ordinary tribunal roles, relevant specialist knowledge and skills. The panel will also assess the personal and judicial qualities required for the role.

Interviews may be used to explore information provided in the application form, clarify issues arising during the consultation process, and examine evidence against the published criteria.

The format of interviews varies depending on the role being recruited. However, all interviews include an assessment of the knowledge, skills and qualities required for effective performance in office.

Interview length varies by role but may generally take 1.5 to 2.5 hours,  however, interviews for more senior roles (such as Sheriff Principal and Senator of the College of Justice) will take longer. 

Recommendations

Following the interviews, there will be a panel decision meeting to consider all of the information, including that included in the application form and consultation material gathered during the competition, to decide the candidates who should be recommended for appointment.

Once the panel has reached its decisions, its recommendations are presented to the full JABS Board for their agreement and decision on the recommendations to be made to the Scottish Government. This enables the Board to satisfy itself that the competition has been conducted in accordance with JABS policies and procedures and provides an opportunity for Board members who were not involved in the competition to discuss the panel's decisions.

Following the Board's decision, the recommendations are submitted to the Scottish Government. 

After the Competition

After the Board's decision has been issued, there are still a number of activities to be undertaking, including:

• Consideration of the responses to requests for voluntary feedback surveys which candidates are asked to complete regarding their experience throughout the competition
• The creation of feedback to candidates at sift or interview stage where requests for these have been received
• A review by the panel and competition moderator to identify lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.