Outgoing Supreme Court President Lady Hale has warned against politicians choosing the UK’s top judges in a speech marking her retirement.<\/p>\n
She advised against adopting a US-style approach “whether in powers or in process of appointment”.<\/p>\n
The Conservatives have pledged to review the “relationship between the government, Parliament and the courts”.<\/p>\n
Lady Hale gained public notoriety when\u00a0she ruled on the prorogation of Parliament wearing a big spider brooch<\/a>.<\/p>\n She will officially retire from her post when she turns 75 next month – the mandatory retirement age for judges appointed before 1995.<\/p>\n It comes as Downing Street said the government’s Brexit bill\u00a0will enable more British judges to depart from previous rulings of the EU’s top court<\/a>.<\/p>\n In her final speech in the role, Lady Hale said: “We (Supreme Court justices) do not know one another’s political opinions – although occasionally we may have a good guess – and long may that remain so.<\/p>\n “Judges have not been appointed for party political reasons in this country since at least the Second World War.<\/p>\n “We do not want to turn into the Supreme Court of the United States – whether in powers or in process of appointment.”<\/p>\n UK Supreme Court judges are appointed on legal experts’ advice, whereas in the US the President can nominate them.<\/p>\n In September, the Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament for five weeks was unlawful.<\/p>\n Lady Hale delivered that ruling, saying the unanimous decision of the 11 justices meant Parliament had effectively not been prorogued, triggering the resumption of Parliamentary business the following day.<\/p>\n In response, attorney-general Geoffrey Cox QC told MPs in the Commons there could come a time for “parliamentary scrutiny” of senior judicial appointments.<\/p>\n However, just days later he said that US-style hearings “would be a regrettable step for us in our constitutional arrangements.”<\/p>\n During the election, however, the Conservative Party pledged to review the UK’s unwritten constitution.<\/p>\n In its manifesto, it said: “After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the relationship between the government, Parliament and the courts; the functioning of the royal prerogative; the role of the House of Lords; and access to justice for ordinary people.”<\/p>\n Lady Hale – who was born Brenda Hale, and is widely known as Judge Brenda – became the Supreme Court’s first female president when she was appointed in 2017.<\/p>\n Signing off, she joked that you had to feel sorry for the male institutions which had had to adjust.<\/p>\n “If Judge Brenda has inspired a younger generation to believe in the ideals of justice, fairness and equality, and to think that they might put them into practice, Judge Brenda will retire content”, she said.<\/p>\n Lord Reed will replace her in January.<\/p>\n Also speaking at the ceremony, he praised her for her handling of the prorogation hearing, calling it “her greatest achievement”, with a ruling which would be “of lasting importance”.<\/p>\n And he suggested that the spider brooch she wore when delivering the verdict had become “a symbol of swashbuckling womanhood”.<\/p>\n She is “an inspiration to women, and especially to women lawyers”, he said, adding that he would miss “an inspiring pioneer, a distinguished scholar and judge, and a valued friend.”<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n