§ Lord Pattenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the light of the decision by the European Court of Human Rights on 8 February that Mr Richard McGonnell was denied a fair trial in Guernsey because the judge presiding over his case was a member of both the legislature and the executive, they will now ensure that the Lord Chancellor steps down as head of the judiciary.[HL1043]
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)No. The position of the Lord Chancellor is unaffected by this case. The decision inMcGonnell is confined to the special position of the Bailiff of Guernsey and his role in the particular case. The European Court of Human Rights emphasised (paragraph 51): "The question is always whether, in a given case, the requirements of the Convention are met". On the facts of this case it held that they were not because of the judge's direct involvement in the passage of the legislation.
The Court accepted the Government's submission that neither Article 6 nor any other provision of the Convention required "States to comply with any theoretical constitutional concepts as such". This is precisely what I have always said.
The Lord Chancellor would never sit in any case concerning legislation in the passage of which he had been directly involved nor in any case where the interests of the executive were directly engaged.