After 30 July 2009, the role of the House of Lords as the UK's highest appeal court
ends [Transcriber's note: Single slide with written heading]
Lord Mance, Law Lord, on the changes to the judicial role of the House of Lords [Transcriber's
note: Single slide with written heading]
Lord Mance: This is the consequence of the separation of judicial, legislative and executive
powers, prescribed by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
The Act, for the first time, recognises expressly both the rule of law and the principle of
the independence of the judiciary, and the separation will mark that. It will make the
Supreme Court visible. It will make it, separately identifiable. We shan't get the confusion,
which I noted in the Spanish press at the time of the Pinochet affair, between the House
of Lords in its legislative capacity and in its judicial capacity.
Interviewer: What does this mean for the House of Lords and the role of Parliament more generally?
Lord Mance: It means, for Parliament, that Parliament will no longer have an appellate
function in respect of individuals, companies or the Government. In that sense, it will
cease to be the High Court of Parliament.it means for the Law Lords that, under the Act,
while we are serving, we can't sit or vote in the House of Lords, although, of course,
we remain Peers. As retired Law Lords,we would be able to return and take a full part, unless
there is some more major reform. In practical terms, we shall leave this building, that's
the Houses of Parliament, we shall move to a building across Parliament Square, the former
Middlesex Guildhall, and that has been elegantly refurbished.
Interviewer: I think the last activity of the Law Lords in the House of Lords is on
the 30th of July [Transcriber's note: 30th July 2009].could you tell us about what will
be happening in that final week that the Law Lords sit in the House?
Lord Mance: Yes, we've got a full list of four cases, which are being heard from Monday
to Thursday. We're reverting to an old tradition, that is to sit in the Chamber of the House,
instead of Committee Room Number 1, and that will be, those will be sittings which are
open to the public. They will culminate with our last judgments, seven of them, given at
4.30 on Thursday. In our case, the last judgment is predictable in timing and that, too, will
be an event which is open to the public and, after that, our appellate function will cease.
Here.
Interviewer: So the public can come and witness this historic last week of the Law Lords in
the House?
Lord Mance: Very much so. All sittings of the House of Lords are, in fact, open to the
public (they're not usually videoed) and all sittings of the Supreme Court will be
open to the public and we shall have much better public facilities the other side of
Parliament Square in the new building.
Interviewer: So what will happen after the 30th of July?
[Transcriber's note: 30th July 2009]
Lord Mance: What will happen is, I'm afraid, from our point of view, a lot of packing and
moving. the usual vacation business of - includes writing some judgments, preparing some lectures
and, perhaps, attending one or two conferences. we've got a full team in place, headed by
a Chief Executive and a Registrar, and they will be commissioning the building.
Interviewer: Finally, and this may be quite a broad question, but how would you sum up
the contribution of Law Lords to the work of the House of Lords?
Lord Mance: In the past, I think, very significant. Even in the legislative area, there are some
great names who played a major role.in recent years, that has very much diminished, especially
in connection with anything political and it still remains to this day in the committee
sphere, I think that's where the real recent contribution has been. The Consolidation Bills
Committee, the Privileges Committee and, above all, the European Union Select Committee,
on which I sit. I chair one of the sub-committees, Sub-Committee E, which scrutinises European
law and institutions and I have to say I think that has been a very valuable experience.I
think that interchange has given insights into how Government and Parliament inter-relate,both
with each other and with Brussels, which most serving judges haven't had and, if I have
one regret about the move, it would be the loss of that opportunity. But I have to say
that the new Supreme Court is going to offer plenty of new opportunities for outreach,
and we have to make sure that we use them, and I'm sure we will.
Find out more: http://www.parliament.uk/lords [Transcriber's note: Single slide with written
heading]
[Transcriber's note: End of video]