The first High Court judges to be appointed under the new Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) selection process were announced today (6 September) by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.

Alastair Norris QC and David Maddison have been named as new High Court judges, becoming the first beneficiaries of the new selection process, which is chaired by Baroness Prashar.

Norris and Maddison will to take up the appointments on 1 October and 29 January, 2008, respectively.

Norris, who was called to the Bar in 1973 and took silk in 1997, has been appointed to the Chancery Division. Meanwhile, Maddison – called to the Bar in 1970 and elected as a bencher of Inner Temple in 2005 – will join the Queen's Bench Division.

The JAC was established under the Constitutional Reform Act in 2005 and officially launched last year in a bid to increase transparency and accountability in the judicial selection process.