The English Judges

Their Role in the Changing Constitution

Robert Stevens

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Year: 2002
• Print ISBN: 9781841134956
• eBook ISBN: 9781847312600
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Public Law
• Index: Law

In this new book Robert Stevens looks at the English Judiciary from an historical perspective with especial reference to its changing role in the 20th Century. He examines current debates about the position of the judges in the light of the possible future role of the judiciary in the Constitution. The centrepiece of the book is a detailed study of the political influences on the judiciary and the influence the judiciary has had on politics in the 20th Century. It concludes with a series of proposed reforms to ensure that the English judiciary will both maintain its strength but enhance its utility in the 21st Century. It offers no simple-minded argument for separation of powers but analyses what is needed to clarify the balance of powers and to advance the debate about the role of an unelected judiciary in an increasingly democratic society.

Table of contents

• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Title verso
• Preface to the Revised Edition
• Preface
• Contents
• Prologue
• 1. Setting the Tone: the Act of Settlement and the Emergence of the Balance of Powers
• 2. 1900-1960 The Declining Role of the English Judiciary
• 3. The Gradual U-Turn
• 4. The Years of Conservative Government 1979-1997
• 5. Jurisprudence or Politics
• 6. Balance of Powers: the Independence of Individual Judges
• 7. The Balance of Powers: The Judges as a Separate Branch of Government?
• 8. New Labour in Power
• 9. The Second Coming
• 10. The Future
• 11. Post Script: The Future is the Present
• Bibliography
• Index