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The new Supreme Court could cause unpredictable changes to the constitution, Lord Neuberger has warned. The former Law Lord, who is due to return to the Court of Appeal in October to take over as Master of the Rolls, has suggested that the Justices of the Supreme Court will be strengthened and more assertive in their new location.
In an interview on the Radio 4 programme, Top Dogs: Britain’s New Supreme Court, in September, Lord Neuberger said there was a risk of “judges arrogating to themselves greater power than they have at the moment”. He said that to make the reforms “as a result of what appears to have been a last-minute decision over a glass of whisky seems to me to verge on the frivolous”. “The danger is you muck around with a constitution like the British constitution at your peril because you do not know what the consequences of any change will be.”
Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor who steered the reform through Parliament, said the Supreme Court Justices would be “bolder” and more willing to take on the Executive. However, former Law Lord, Lord Bingham said: “I would, myself, heavily discount the notion that because they are not in Parliament any more, they are going to behave differently.”
The Supreme Court will be housed in Middlesex Guildhall, which has had a £56 million refurbishment. The 12 Supreme Court Justices crossed London’s Parliament Square from the House of Lords to their new premises in August, and will begin hearing cases on 1 October.
(See also the November issue of Counsel.)
In an interview on the Radio 4 programme, Top Dogs: Britain’s New Supreme Court, in September, Lord Neuberger said there was a risk of “judges arrogating to themselves greater power than they have at the moment”. He said that to make the reforms “as a result of what appears to have been a last-minute decision over a glass of whisky seems to me to verge on the frivolous”. “The danger is you muck around with a constitution like the British constitution at your peril because you do not know what the consequences of any change will be.”
Lord Falconer, the Lord Chancellor who steered the reform through Parliament, said the Supreme Court Justices would be “bolder” and more willing to take on the Executive. However, former Law Lord, Lord Bingham said: “I would, myself, heavily discount the notion that because they are not in Parliament any more, they are going to behave differently.”
The Supreme Court will be housed in Middlesex Guildhall, which has had a £56 million refurbishment. The 12 Supreme Court Justices crossed London’s Parliament Square from the House of Lords to their new premises in August, and will begin hearing cases on 1 October.
(See also the November issue of Counsel.)
The new Supreme Court could cause unpredictable changes to the constitution, Lord Neuberger has warned. The former Law Lord, who is due to return to the Court of Appeal in October to take over as Master of the Rolls, has suggested that the Justices of the Supreme Court will be strengthened and more assertive in their new location.
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