UK Govt- Relations between the Branches: Judicial Independence and Neutrality

What is judicial indepedence?

The judiciary should be able to rule freely, without fear of negative consequences of retaliation, from media, but especially the other branches of government

Main ways in which judicial independence is protected?

The duty of Lord Chancellor to protect judicial independence, convention/statue which limits the scrutiny of media and ministers, the protection of judicial salaries

Main ways in which judicial independence is threatened?

Lord Chancellors are increasingly coming from non-legal backgrounds, media and ministers are increasingly criticising the judiciary, governments still have some powers to freeze judicial salaries

Evidence of Lord Chancellors protecting judicial independence-

In 2011 Ken Clarke wrote to the government to remind them to uphold judicial independence after Theresa May (home secretary) publicly voiced her complaint toward a ruling in R v Home Secretary which reinforced the right of sex offenders to apply to have their position on the sex offender register reviewed

Evaluation of Lord Chancellors protecting judicial independence-

This measure can only come into place after a minister has already criticised the judiciary, it does NOT prevent it happening or having effect

Evidence of Lord Chancellors not having legal backgrounds and not protecting the judiciary-

Liz Truss (Conservative, Pro-Brexit) was appointed with no legal background. In 2017 the Daily Mirror labelled the judiciary 'Enemies of the People' after the Miller I ruling. Truss did not respond to this for 2 days and when she did she did not directly condemn the headline despite it clearly damaging judicial independence.

Evidence of statute and convention preventing scrutiny from the media and ministers-

The 1981 Contempt of the Court Act made it illegal for media to publish information that my bias the judgement of judges or jurors in ongoing court cases --> In 2012 The Daily Mail and Daily Mirror were fined £10,000 for this

Evidence of media and ministers increasingly scrutinising court rulings-

In 2006 there was a Crown Court ruling which sentenced a convicted paedophile in Wales to 5 years in prison minimum, despite this being correct in line with expectations, law and sentence calculations there was immense media backlash from papers like the 'Daily Express' and the Home Secretary publicly called the ruling 'unduly lenient'. After the Miller I case Suella Braverman publicly condemned the ruling and undermined the judge's neutrality by accusing them of judging politically.

Evidence of judges independence being protected by protected salaries-

Judges do not have to worry about their rulings leading to wage cuts. Lord Chancellor only has power to increase judges salaries, not to decrease them. Judicial salaries come from the protected Consolidated Fund

Evidence of government still being able to meddle with judicial salaries-

The 2010-2015 coalition government froze judicial salaries as a part of austerity which saw cuts to many public salaries. Due to inflation this technically meant a cut in real wages for judges.

Overall, is the judiciary entirely independent?

No, as they continue to challenge the government and become more high profile, there has been increasing challenges and scrutiny towards court rulings and not enough measures to prevent and punish it

In 2021, what % of the time did SCOTUK rule in favour of the government?

86% of the time (vs 51% of the time in 2020)

How does the power of Lord Chancellor infringe on judicial independence?

They still can veto appointments-- Ken Clarke did this for lower lawyers multiple times in 2011

How is the Lord Chancellor's veto for judicial appointments limited?

Lord Chancellor can only veto once, they can't veto the Judicial Appointments Committee's second choice

Until what age do judges have tenure?

Until 75

Which members of Johnson's ministry overtly criticised SCOTUK rulings?

Patel and Cummings

In 2020, what % of the time did SCOTUK rule in favour of local authorities? What was the % in 2021?

51% of the time vs 86% now --trend

How many women have ever been appointed to SCOTUK?

Only two

In 2023, what % of the entire judiciary in England and Wales was black?

1.09%

What % of senior judges attended Oxford or Cambridge?

75% --slim demographic as senior judges are where SCOTUK is picked from

What is the contradiction with trying to ensure diversity in SCOTUK?

Pursuing diversity does not enhance neutrality, it abandons the principle-- demographic SHOULD NOT MATTER