Events

July 1st 2025: Official launch of the UK Association of Black Judges

Thank you:

Thank you for attending the launch of the UK Association of Black Judges (UKABJ). A historic event aimed at amplifying the voice of Black Judges across England and Wales. In addition to those in the room, we were joined online by many Black Judges and senior Black lawyers who practice in the United Kingdom, including those now retired.

We hope you found the event engaging and informative, and we’re pleased to have received very positive feedback, especially from the senior judiciary.
We are grateful to the Justices of the Supreme Court for being such generous hosts, and the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, for giving us their time when we know there were a number of competing events scheduled that evening.

Regrettably, the annual Judicial Diversity statistics released on 3 July show that the
percentage of Black Judges remains unaltered at 1.3% although there have been increases for all other ethnicities.

We hope that the strong messages of support from Lord Leggatt in his welcoming remarks on behalf of the Court, and from the Lady Chief Justice and Lady Justice Whipple, in their respective speeches, will help drive meaningful progress in appointment and promotion of Black Judges and counter some of the negative experiences judges may face when carrying out their judicial role.

With many of you breaking for summer holidays, the steering committee is taking time to reflect and will be getting in touch with the Senior Judges who have offered practical support.

If you would like to join us as a member, please submit an application.