Essay On Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Introduction

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an act made by Parliament of United Kingdom provided for the creation of a Supreme Court to take over the roles of law lords and the powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council was devolved, removing the role of speakers in the House of Lords and the head of the Judiciary in England and Wales from the office of the Lord Chancellor. The act came into force in April 2006, has clearly delineate the separation of the judicial function from the other two bodies and has considerably strengthened the independence of the Judiciary which is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. It is a fundamental constitutional requirement in the UN basic principles

He was the member of the cabinet, the head of the Judiciary and was entitle to hear appeal cases in the House of Lords which are a Legislative chamber. Therefore, it led to dissension to the doctrine of separation of powers which was contradictory to the independence of the judiciary. The Government announced to abolish the office of Lord Chancellor in order to have a more formal separation of powers. The intention was to transfer the Lord Chancellor’s ministerial functions to the new office of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, leaving his judicial functions to be performed by the Lord Chief Justice. In McGonnell v United Kingdom [2000], the European Court of Human Rights confirmed the previous decision of the commission in relation to the judicial function of the Bailiff of the island of Guernsey and it was help that Bailiff had acted as a judge in a case in which he had played an administrative role was in breach of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Although those words could apply equally to the Lord Chancellor, but the actual court decision was limited to this decision until the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 came

The purpose judiciary were given independence is so that the judges can protect the citizens from arbitrary use of power by the Government, being impartial in solving disputes and to maintain public confidence in the judiciary and the government. Judges cannot be dismissed summarily by the executive. Senior judges’ tenure is secure under the Act of Settlement 1700 and may only be removed by the Queen with the address presented by both Houses of Parliament. The Supreme Court Act 1981 provides that judicial salaries are fixed by a non-governmental body to avoid