British Constitutional Reform

Among its salient features are the establishment of a Supreme Court in the United Kingdom, the modification of the duties of the Lord Chancellor, reduction of the deputy speakers from 25 to 12, and the removal of the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords. It also creates the Judicial Appointments Commission, which is tasked with the selection of candidates for judicial appointments in England and Wales. The highly controversial act has been viewed as the Government’s response to the increased sensitivity manifested by the judiciary to observe the fundamentals of the British constitution, among which is to enshrine the doctrine of separation of powers and to ensure to any person accused in a criminal or civil case a fair trial by an impartial judge.

The Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 upholds the British constitution by enshrining judicial independence and the doctrine of separation of powers. Judicial independence requires that the judiciary be separate and independent from the other branches of the government, namely, the executive and the legislative, in order to uphold the rule of law. This principle requires that the law be administered by the cold neutrality of an impartial judge who deliberates upon the case carefully and is free from any undue influence from an outside source. This is manifested in the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 by the creation of the Judicial Appointments Commission, among other changes.

The doctrine of the separation of powers posits that the government is divided into the separate and distinct branches– the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. Each branch serves as a check and balance on the other to ensure that no branch arrogates upon itself all the powers of the government.