The English Judges: Their Role in the Changing ConstitutionIn this new book Robert Stevens looks at the English Judiciary from an historical perspective with especial reference to its changing role in the 20th Century. He examines current debates about the position of the judges in the light of the possible future role of the judiciary in the Constitution. The centrepiece of the book is a detailed study of the political influences on the judiciary and the influence the judiciary has had on politics in the 20th Century. It concludes with a series of proposed reforms to ensure that the English judiciary will both maintain its strength but enhance its utility in the 21st Century. It offers no simple-minded argument for separation of powers but analyses what is needed to clarify the balance of powers and to advance the debate about the role of an unelected judiciary in an increasingly democratic society. |
Contents
the Act of Settlement and the Emergence of the Balance of Powers | 1 |
2 19001960 The Declining Role of the English Judiciary | 14 |
3 The Gradual UTurn | 30 |
4 The Years of Conservative Government 19791997 | 45 |
5 Jurisprudence or Politics | 62 |
the Independence of Individual Judges | 76 |
The Judges as a Separate Branch of Government? | 89 |
8 New Labour in Power | 100 |
9 The Second Coming | 119 |
10 The Future | 137 |
The Future is the Present | 154 |
195 | |
203 | |
Common terms and phrases
administration argued bench Bill Blair British Cabinet century chaired civil common law Constitutional Reform Consultation Paper Convention on Human Court of Appeal Daily Telegraph David Blunkett debates decisions democracy democratic devolution elected England English judges European Convention executive final appeal final court Halsbury Hansard HL Deb High Court judges Home Secretary Hong Kong House of Commons House of Lords Human Rights Act Hutton ibid increasingly inquiry issues Judicial Appointments Commission judicial independence judicial review judiciary Law Journal Law Lords lawyers legislation legislature liberal London Lord Bingham Lord Chancellor Lord Chief Justice Lord Hoffmann Lord Irvine Lord Mackay Lord Steyn Lord Woolf majority ment Michael Howard office of Lord Oxford Parl Deb Parliament parliamentary sovereignty Pinochet politicians Prime Minister Privy Council Public Law Report responsible role rule of law Scotland Scottish Senior Law Lord separation of powers Stevens Supreme Court