§ 42. Mr. Meacherasked the Attorney-General if he will introduce legislation to set an age limit on the tenure of office of those judges who are not at present covered by age limits.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I gave to him on 9 June last, to which I have nothing to add.
§ Mr. MeacherWill not the right hon. and learned Gentleman accept that there are judges over the age of 80 whose judgments are so regularly eccentric and so idiosyncratically out of touch with modern views that they are constantly having to be overturned at a higher level? Does he not agree that geriatric judges with nineteenth-century social ad political prejudice only bring the rule of law into disrepute? It is reasonable that an age limit of 70 should be imposed.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThere is only one judge over 80 at the moment.
§ Mr. WinnickName him.
§ The Attorney-GeneralHe reached his eighty-second birthday last week and I would like to congratulate him on it. It is not for me to comment on individual decisions, some of which may be subject to appeal. In 1959 Parliament decided that a statutory retirement age for judges should be imposed. At the same time, Parliament did not impose that upon those who were already appointed judges.
§ Sir Charles Fletcher-CookeIs not Lord Denning probably the best-known judge in the world? Are not these attacks on him highly resented by everyone who has had the privilege of appearing before him?
§ The Attorney-GeneralIf, indeed, there is to be criticism of a judge, there is a well known, recognised parliamentary process for dealing with that situation.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I did not have the knowledge of the Attorney-General that there was only one judge aged over 80, or I would have intervened. The Attorney-General is right. If anyone wishes to criticise a judge in this place, he should first table a motion on the Order Paper and seek to have it debated.
§ Mr. Jeffrey ThomasBearing in mind the usual rules about the principle of equality under the law, will the Attorney-General advance any good reason why judges should not be subject to the usual retirement age rules?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI am sure that the hon. and learned Gentleman would be the first to complain if his 601 contract were altered after he had signed it and had acted under it for a period of time. That is what would happen here. Parliament in 1959 decided not to affect the contracts of those who were already appointed.
§ Mr. Christopher PriceOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I get it right? Is it the case that under our rules we can say nice things about judges but cannot say nasty things about them?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat applies to many people.