Limits to judicial independence and neutrality

• Limits to judicial independence and neutrality

  • MPs and the media openly question Supreme Court decisions, which could prevent the court from taking tough decisions in the future, limiting its independence
  • In criticising the government, judges may well be acting independently but in doing so are not necessarily acting neutrally
• • Lack of social diversity in the senior judiciary has led to charges that the courts are unconsciously biased against certain groups, particularly those from minority ethnic communities and women
  • Political input into senior appointments, despite the creation of the JAC
• • Formal selection responsibility continues to reside with the lord chancellor, who is appointed by the prime minister, and who may reject the first-choice candidate suggested by the JAC
  • Creation of the Supreme Court was only a 'cosmetic' exercise, with its powers largely the same as those of the Law Lords, limiting its ability to hold the government to account