Law tutor appointed president of national adjudication panel

Claire Sharp, Law framework tutor has recently been appointed as President of the Adjudication Panel for Wales.

The Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW) is an independent tribunal which exists to determine alleged breaches by elected and co-opted members of Welsh county, county borough and community councils, fire and national park authorities, against their authority’s statutory code of conduct.

Claire was appointed as President following a selection process run by the Judicial Appointments Commission. The commission uses a competency framework to assess applications and after completing an application form Claire was invited to interview. References were taken from other judges and senior lawyers to understand her wider skills and at the end of the process, the Commission recommended her for appointment to the First Minister of the Welsh Government, Carwyn Jones.

Claire’s work for the panel will be very wide ranging. She will be responsible for the judicial side of the APW and its members which involves managing both the hearing process, the conduct of members, dealing with any complaints and grievances, undertaking training, stakeholder liaison and representing the APW both externally and with the Welsh Government and others.

Talking of her appointment Claire said, “Regulatory work is increasingly important to the profession and with my other appointments, something I'm uniquely qualified to talk about. This means that students often ask about my judicial work as they want to consider their long-term plans for their career.”

“I'm delighted and honoured to have this opportunity to further serve the people of Wales. Being President of the APW will no doubt be challenging, but also a role where I can continue to learn new things. I anticipate that I will bring the knowledge gained in other jurisdictions to further aid our work, and vice versa.”

Congratulations to Claire on her great achievement!