Topic: “The critics of the Government’s proposals to abolish the post of Lord Chancellor and create a Supreme Court are motivated by blind adherence to tradition rather than a rational analysis of the issues”
The United Kingdom is a Constitutional Monarchy and is based on Parliamentary Democracy, with a Queen and a Parliament that has two houses: the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. Supreme legislative power is vested in Parliament, which sits for five years unless dissolved sooner. The executive power of the Crown is exercised by the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister.
Since the advent of the 10th century, England has existed as a unified entity and along with that has brought about many changes into the way England was governed which constantly reflected the changes in the times as the years passed by. In the year 1997 the electoral victory of the Labour Party after eighteen years of a Conservative rule is promising to bring about a Constitutional reform that will not only serve to decentralize the United Kingdom but also contribute to the effectiveness of the Separation of Powers which has long been an issue of contention, along with the introduction of separate Parliaments in Wales and Scotland. Among some of the other elements of the Constitutional Reform as proposed by this government is the decentralization of powers from Westminster and Whitehall.
The role of the Lord Chancellor is rather controversial in the sense that his responsibilities are in conflict with the doctrine of the Separation of Powers. This doctrine states that the power of the state has to be divided between the three organs, namely the judiciary, legislature and executive. Each of the organs should operate independently and none will become all powerful. The Lord Chancellor, who is the member of the cabinet, is the head of the judiciary and is entitled to sit in the House of Lords to hear the appeal cases. Besides that, he is the speaker of the House of