The Judiciary And The Administration Of Justice

EDM number 1338 in 1992-93, proposed by Paul Boateng on 08/02/1993.

That this House notes with grave concern the growing tension between the Government and judiciary as expressed by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Taylor, in recent speeches and interviews; recognises that this arises from widespread disquiet amongst the judiciary at Government policy on legal aid, the Asylum Bill, a number of whose provisions Lord Taylor describes as 'wrong in principle', and the appointment of an insufficient number of High Court judges; notes the increase in the workload of the High Court and the unsatisfactory nature of the delays arising therefrom and that Lord Taylor has said, 'I can't do the job unless I have the judges'; recognises the threat both to the work of the commercial courts and the liberty of the individual that the failure to appoint a sufficiency of High Court judges presents; notes the representations of consumer and civil liberties groups to this effect; and calls on the Government to expedite, with additional resources, the review of the deployment of High Court judges established by the Lord Chancellor, to publish its findings and implement any recommendations to increase the number of High Court judges without further delay.

This motion has been signed by a total of 101 MPs.