Ms Mary Keane:

By the removal of a couple of the restrictions which are in there which I have mentioned them earlier on, such as the four-year requirement for a legal academic. I also referred to the one in head 21(b) whereby if one has not stood in a particular court and shown one's wares over a considerable period of time, one should be automatically not allowed to apply for appointment.

The real detail on this will be done by the procedures committee. We are only talking here to a general scheme, which is high level, but in that it is indicated there will be a procedures committee. We would like to see a bit more diversity in who would sit on the procedures committee. If one does not have representatives of the practising professions on the commission, does that mean they will not be on the procedures committee?

I am chair of another board and we have external members on our committees. I know the procedures committee of this new commission will have some lay members, but it may be a good idea for it to have external members for the purposes of drawing up its procedures and criteria and identifying where the balance should be between the legal qualifications and the personal attributes or skills, or maybe there should be some sort of diversity requirement. It would be great to see that more people being involved in the procedures committee, besides the judicial and lay members who are appointed to the overall commission.