This week, The Guardian published an open letter from high-profile individuals within the legal sector ahead of the Supreme Court ruling on triggering Article 50. The letter implores the Lord Chancellor to “vocally defend the independent judiciary”, highlighting that the judgment will be controversial no matter what the result.
The lawyers rightly point out that the three arms of the State must remain impartial to enable them to keep each other in check. It will be interesting to see whether the judiciary comes under further fire when the judgment is announced.
When the high court ruled on the use of the royal prerogative in relation to triggering article 50 we saw an unprecedented attack on the judiciary. Independent judges were labelled “enemies of the people” by the Daily Mail, and publicly lambasted for simply doing their job. It is the duty of judges to impartially interpret the law, and it is the duty of the lord chancellor, Liz Truss, to unequivocally defend the law. As the supreme court ruling on the use of the royal prerogative approaches, we hope the lord chancellor will not be so shy this time around to vocally defend the independent judiciary. The people of the UK voted to leave the EU, and this process must be carried out with integrity.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/dec/12/brexit-the-judiciary-and-the-royal-prerogative
