A report by the Council of Europe has revealed that the UK has the lowest number of female professional judges in the continent, just above Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Women make up 30 per cent of judges in England and Wales, and 23 per cent in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Armenia and Azerbaijan are at the bottom with 23 and 11 per cent, respectively.
Slovenia, with 78 per cent, followed by Latvia (77 per cent) and Romania (74 per cent) have the highest percentage of female judges in Europe.
The report, released in 2014, also indicated that just over half (51 per cent) of judges in Europe are women. However, these figures from the Council of Europe refer to professional judges.
In the UK, data from the Ministry of Justice data shows that 53 per cent of magistrates in England and Wales are women.
Last week, Justice Secretary Liz Truss criticised the courts and legal professions for lack of diversity, saying that a modern justice system should reflect its people.
She said: “Currently only one in seven of QCs and one in three of partners in law firms are women.
“Fewer than one in ten judges come from ethnic minorities. Only a quarter went to state school. This is modern global Britain – we can do better than this.”
Truss was appointed as the first female lord chancellor in July, amid alleged misogynistic comments over her suitability for the office.
Conservative MP Bob Neill, doubted whether she could “represent the interest of the judiciary” because she had been neither a lawyer nor a “senior member of the cabinet”.
