Online Lecture: The Politics of Judging

All students are invited to a free online lecture by Thomas Grant QC on The Politics of Judging on Monday 29 Mar, 6pm-7pm (or watch later).

In this lecture Grant, who’s a Visiting Professor at Gresham College, will discuss proposals to abolish or reform the Supreme Court: “My own view is that the Supreme Court, and before it the House of Lords, is one of, if not the most, respected courts in the world. It sits at the apex of a court system which attracts business from across the world. Foreign companies chose to have their disputes decided by English judges because they know they will get independent justice dispensed by high-quality legal minds. And so when one reads about proposals to rename the Supreme Court the Upper Court of Appeal, or to convert its membership so that it includes a rolling list of Court of Appeal judges, one does wonder why such an act of national self-harm could even be contemplated.”

“It is one thing to criticize particular judgments of the court and quite another to suggest that the judiciary is engaged in some form of concerted project to expand the reach of judicial power,” he will say

It is easy to register for this lecture via the webpage below using an email address; you’ll get a reminder by email 10 mins before the lecture starts with the link. You can also watch later on replay.

The Politics of Judging
Thomas Grant QC, Visiting Professor of Politics and Law at Gresham College
Mon 29 Mar 2021, 6pm-7pm
https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/political-judges

In the wake of the decision in the parliamentary prorogation case Miller (No.2), the question of the politics of the judiciary has been thrust into the public eye. Was it “a constitutional coup” as some have claimed? The Government has promised to “update the Human Rights Act” and review the “relationship between the government, parliament and the courts”.
Will this limit the power of the judiciary to do justice? Do British judges have too much “power” and are they over-politicised?
Read more about Thomas Grant QC