One of the things Federal Conference needs to do this year is to approve candidates for the Federal Appeals Panel. This is basically the Supreme Court of the Lib Dems, the end point of our internal judicial process.
I don’t remember the recruitment process being quite so open before and it’s great to see it being more widely advertised.
The advert is below and if you feel that this is something you can do, particularly if you are from an under-represented group, please apply:
Appointments: The Liberal Democrat Federal Appeals Panel
The Liberal Democrats – Britain’s voice for a truly open, tolerant and united society – are seeking fair-minded, curious and insightful volunteers to join the Federal Appeals Panel for a term of five years starting in January 2021. One volunteer will be elected as Chair of the Federal Appeals Panel and if you wish to be considered for this position please specify in your application.
More than 3.6 million people voted for the Liberal Democrats in the 2019 General Election. We have more than 2,600 councillors, lead 50 councils and are responsible for more than £5bn of public spending.
The Federal Appeals Panel appoints members for a once renewable term, and its members adjudicate on issues such as disputes over the interpretation of our constitution and between certain party bodies. A full description of the Federal Appeals Panel is available in Article 22 of our constitution. In addition to the responsibilities set out in the constitution the roles have recently become responsible for all appeals from our complaints procedure.
These are volunteer positions and the work is conducted remotely. The time commitment is flexible and is unlikely to exceed ten days a year. The ideal candidate will bring evidence of their commitment to the Party’s values, experience in voluntary or non-executive roles, credibility with regards to legal or textual interpretation, and enthusiasm.
The Liberal Democrats are committed to diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications from candidates from all walks of life. However volunteers may not be currently serving MPs, prospective parliamentary candidates or a member of our Federal Board or Policy Committee. Reasonable expenses will be reimbursed.
For questions and further details, and to submit an application, please contact: [email protected] attaching: – 1) A copy of your CV;
2) A Covering Letter no more than 2 pages of A4 in length, indicating clearly how
your experience and skills meet the criteria stated in the job and person specification. Please write your name on top of your supporting statement and specify whether you wish to be considered for the role of FAP Chair.
3) A completed diversity monitoring form.
4) Please ensure we have the means to contact you by phone and email.
Applications will be considered on an ongoing process and the advert may close without warning.
Potential volunteers will be notified of our receipt of their information and the outcome of their application, but we cannot commit to providing individual feedback.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Paul Simon: Born at the Right Time
F10 is passed overwhelmingly. Now the work begins...
Blackness Road - 1967 #dundeewestend
Torchwood is now a Cardiff Bay institution
Paul Duffy selected by Lib Dems for Runcorn & Helsby by-election
Mike Peters
Alex Macfie
Craig Levene
theakes
Thelma Davies
One Comment
It would be helpful if the above included a link to the diversity monitoring form that needs to be filled out given it’s a listed requirement. There’s also, disappointingly, minimal information in the advertisement about requirements for the role – notably, whether it can be done remotely, and if not where the Panel’s activities will be based.
It also strikes me that five years is far too long for Federal Appeals Panel terms. Two or three, like the Federal Committees, would surely make more sense.
There are a bunch of roles like this that I wouldn’t rule out volunteering for, but the information available often seems to be quite minimal and the volunteering process not made easy, especially for those of us for whom travel isn’t a plausible option.