High court judge taken off case in part because of Garrick membership
A high court judge has been removed from presiding over a case involving an alleged rape and domestic abuse victim in part due to his membership of the men-only Garrick Club.
Sir Jonathan Cohen was due to hear a family court case involving a dispute between a separated couple over shared care arrangements for their child, but another high court judge ruled last Thursday that Cohen should not hear the case.
This is the second judge in the past month to be formally removed from hearing a case because of membership of the Garrick. The central London club has come under intense scrutiny after the Guardian revealed some of the UK’s most senior judges and lawyers are members of an institution that has repeatedly blocked attempts to allow women to join.
The child’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accused the father of coercive and controlling behaviour and domestic abuse; she has also alleged she was a victim of rape and male violence by other men. Her allegations have yet to be determined in court.
The mother’s lawyer, Charlotte Proudman, submitted a formal request on her client’s behalf for Cohen to step back from the case on the grounds that he was a “member of the all-male exclusive Garrick Club that excludes women from becoming members”. His membership “could result in bias, unfairness of the proceedings and the potential of prejudice” against the mother, the recusal application stated.
The application also noted that the father in the case was a regular visitor to the club, that his ex-employer was a member of the Garrick and that the mother had attended a protest outside the club in March because of its male-only membership policy.
Granting the application, Mr Justice Keehan agreed Cohen should not hear the case, stating that his decision was made on the basis that “Sir Jonathan Cohen is a member of the Garrick Club”, “the father was a regular visitor to the Garrick Club”, “the father’s ex-employer is a member of the Garrick Club” and because the appellant had attended the public protest.
Separately, Proudman is facing disciplinary proceedings for her criticisms of a judgment handed down by Cohen in an unrelated case. She claimed the ruling contained “echoes of a boys’ club attitude”. She made an earlier request that the judge appointed to oversee these disciplinary proceedings, Philip Havers, should recuse himself because he was a member of the Garrick Club. Havers withdrew himself from the case last month.
Keehan made it clear in his decision notice that the recusal of Cohen was not related to the disciplinary proceedings involving Proudman and the high court judge.
Last month, the Guardian revealed that some of Britain’s most powerful judges are members of the Garrick, a gentlemen’s club that has several times voted down motions proposing that women should be allowed to join.
The Garrick’s membership also includes about 150 KCs, dozens of serving and retired judges, current and former justice ministers and numerous senior solicitors.
At least four senior judges resigned from the men-only club in the wake of their membership being made public. The Bar Council warned that exclusive members’ clubs “create the potential for unfair advantage” for lawyers seeking to become judges, responding to growing unease about senior legal practitioners who are members of the club.