The Separation of Powers in the Contemporary Constitution: Judicial Competence and Independence in the United Kingdom

by Roger Masterman

Overview

This book examines the dividing lines between the powers of the judicial branch of government and those of the executive and legislative branches in the light of two of the most significant constitutional reforms of recent years: the Human Rights Act 1998 and Constitutional Reform Act 2005. Both statutes have implications for the separation of powers within the United Kingdom constitution. The Human Rights Act brings the judges into much closer proximity with the decisions of political actors than previously permitted by the Wednesbury standard of review and the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. While, arguably by contrast, the Constitutional Reform Act marks the emergence of an institutionally independent judicial branch. Taken together, the two legislative schemes form the backbone of a more comprehensive system of constitutional checks and balances policed by a judicial branch underpinned by the legitimacy of institutional independence. For law and politics readers on constitutional reform globally.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521493376
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/02/2010
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Roger Masterman is Senior Lecturer in Law at Durham Law School, where his teaching and research interests lie in the area of constitutional law and reform.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. A doctrine of uncertain scope and application; 2. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the separation of powers; 3. The Strasbourg influence; 4. Justiciability; 5. Deference and proportionality; 6. Statutory interpretation and declarations of incompatibility; 7. Developing the common law and the meaning of 'the convention rights'; 8. The independence of the judiciary; 9. Towards constitutional separation.

Editorial Reviews

'Roger Masterman, of the law faculty at Durham, has produced an erudite treatise in the finest tradition of English legal scholarship, and one that, despite its thorough and detailed grounding in the intricacies of legal materials, should be perused by political scientists. (The notes alone, in fact, are a treasure trove).' Jerold Waltman, British Politics Group Quarterly

From the Publisher