§ 28. Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle)How many times the Lord Chancellor has sat in a judicial capacity in the last 12 months. [109641]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department (Jane Kennedy)The Lord Chancellor has sat in a judicial capacity four times in the past 12 months.
§ Mr. PrenticeThat is four times too many. I suspect that my hon. Friend the Minister will not agree that it is 1364 simply indefensible for the Lord Chancellor to sit as a judge while he is a member of both the legislature and the Executive. Does she share my disappointment that the report of the royal commission on the House of Lords recommended that the status quo be retained? That is a complete anachronism. Will not the Government be forced by the European Court of Human Rights in the Guernsey case to revisit the matter, and to make it clear that a Minister cannot serve as a judge at the same time?
§ Jane KennedyI could not disagree with my hon. Friend more profoundly, although he makes his point forcibly, as he has done for some time. The decision in the case to which he referred—the case of McGonnell—is confined to the special position of the Bailiff of Guernsey and his role in that case. In addition, if the Lord Chancellor were not a judge, he could not have the necessary close relationship with the senior judiciary. The relationship between the Executive and the judiciary could therefore deteriorate, with damaging consequences and consequential risks to the judiciary's independence.
§ Mr. James Clappison (Hertsmere)I declare an interest as a member of the Bar.
Does the Lord Chancellor ever preside over cases that are heard by a jury? If not, could the Parliamentary Secretary make sure that he has the opportunity to do so? That would enable him to see the good sense of the jury system in operation, and the lengths to which our constituents go when they serve on juries. It would also allow the Lord Chancellor to see that there is no substitute for the fairness of the jury system. Could he then knock some sense into the head of the Home Secretary?
§ Jane KennedyLord Chancellors in the past sat judicially for most of their working day, but that practice ceased after the second world war. Although Lord Chancellors since then have not sat as judges to the same extent, there are no particular restrictions on the cases for which they may choose to sit. However, the Lord Chancellor would never sit on any case that involved legislation in whose passage through the House he had been directly involved, nor in any case in which the Executive's interests were directly engaged.