Secret judge appointments 'need to change'

A constitutional law expert has called for more transparency and accountability around how judges are chosen.

George Williams says the process for selecting High Court justices takes place entirely in secret, with the recent resignation announcement of chief justice Robert French managing to slip under the media's radar.

"We must not politicise the appointment of judges but nonetheless should change the process to bring about more transparency and accountability," he writes in Fairfax newspapers on Monday.