Legal Personnel: Advantages of Judicial Independence

Question 1

P - Fair decisions

Answer 1

DP - Judges must be completely independent from the case, suggesting impartiality - cases are made based on facts and law, this fair
WDP - Fairer decisions are made, as they’re free from any connection to cases, allows D to be judged without bias

Question 2

P - Protects citizens

Answer 2

DP - Judges free from abuse of power of executive and legislative. If Gov could influence how the judges made decisions, people would be imprisoned without cause
WDP - Judges were previously invovled in law making when Law Lords were in the HoL, received a lot of criticism, so moved to SC under the CRA 2005

Question 3

P - Protects judges

Answer 3

DP - Judges have immunity from suit, can’t be prosecuted for decisions made in judicial course (Sirrors v Moore)
WDP - If judges able to remove someone when people are unhappy with a decision, could deter people entering the profession, reduce the cross-section of society

Question 4

P - Security of tenure

Answer 4

DP - Under the Senior Courts Act 1981, security of tenure grants SC judges security that they can’t be removed from job if on good behaviour
WDP - Enables democratic and constitutional methodology within out justice system knowing are superior judges can’t be removed