Advantages of Judiciary

• Improvement in Representation of Women and BAME Judges

  • number of females in judiciary has increase: 24% female in 2014, 32% in 2020, 35% in 2022
  • result of the Judicial Diversity Committee's Action Plan to increase diversity
  • Supreme Court has 2 female justices including Former Chief Justice, Baroness Hale, who was the first female to be the most senior judge in the UK
  • BAME judge representation also improved : 8% of judges in 2020 identified as BAME, increase was evident in senior courts, with 8% of COA judges being from BAME backgrounds
• Academic and Legal Expertise of Judiciary

  • UK has one of the best educated and most experience judiciaries in the world
  • 65% were privately educated, 71% went to Oxford or Cambridge
  • more coming from state schools with representation improving - 13% of Judges come from comprehensive schools and 20% attended grammar schools, shows track record of academic excellence and increasing number of judges coming from different backgrounds, broadening experiences within the judiciary
  • must have been a solicitor or barrister for at least 7 years, often apply with more than that experience - high legal expertise
• Independence of Judges

  • Constitutional Reform Act 2005 ensures that there is independence from Political Interference guaranteed
  • judges can make important decisions in cases which are legally accurate without worrying about political or public reaction, A v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2005) where the UK courts found law in relation to Detention of Terror Suspects was incompatible with human rights, an important decision but deeply unpopular with Government
  • Miller v Prime Minister, decision of Prime Minister to suspend Parliament ruled unlawful, show power of judges to challenge government when the law is being misused, even when decisions are unpopular
• Judges Are Able To 'Check' Other Branches of Government

  • part of their role is to 'check and balance' against legislature and executive - allows judges to protect citizen's rights
  • judges use numerous mechanisms to check power:
  • Judicial Review - high court can use judicial reviews to consider delegated legislation passed by Government ministers, if HC believes minister used too much power, they can declare the law ultra vires
  • Common Law - significant gaps in statute law allows judges to use their power to create laws, Pepper v Hart - HoL ruled parliamentary debates in Hansard could be considered