The UK justice system exhibits '
institutional
' racism which is reflected both in the decisions handed down and in the lack of diversity within the legal professions, according to a report.
“
While the justice system has enormous power over individuals, its functioning is largely under-examined and in particular, racist biases remain very little studied
”, regrets this report, produced by the University of Manchester and made public on Tuesday 18 October evening.
Far from neutral
It is based in particular on a survey of 373 justice professionals, according to which more than half (56%) of respondents said they had witnessed a judge acting with a racist prejudice towards an accused.
52% say they have seen such discrimination at least once in the decisions taken by a judge.
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Black people - especially young black men - or Asians are particularly victims of these prejudices.
The authors of the report also regret that judges are insufficiently aware of and trained in these issues, since 49% of respondents, among those who are judges, say they have received such training.
"
Judges are traditionally seen - and often see themselves - as neutral arbiters, but this is very far from being the case in reality
", estimates Professor Eithne Quinn, who coordinated the report, quoted in a statement.
Above all, the report points to the fact that the strategy for inclusion and diversity in the current judicial system makes no reference to these racist biases, a real “
denial
” of reality.
Beyond this racism towards citizens facing justice, the report notes that the profession of judge lacks diversity.
“Should no longer be ignored”
According to official statistics, the chances of an Asian or black candidate being nominated are respectively 37% and 75% lower than those of a white candidate.
If the data is cross-referenced with gender, women candidates from an ethnic minority have even less chance of being nominated.
According to official figures, in 2020, 4% of the judges of the highest courts, 8% of the judges of the courts dealing with the most important cases and 12% of the judges of the courts handling the current cases were from ethnic minorities.
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"
Our justice system, as an institution, is as racist as our police force, as our education system or our health care system, and this is something that should no longer be ignored
", reacted the lawyer Leslie Thomas, author of a previous report on the subject, quoted in the press release.
The London police have been particularly shaken by a series of scandals linked to the racist and sexist behavior of its officers.