The Limits of Judicial Power

A programme of constitutional reform

October 1, 2022

The system for appointing senior judges needs to be reformed. In this paper, we explain what has gone wrong and what should now be done to put it right. We take senior appointments to include the High Court, the Court of Appeal, leadership roles such as the Lord Chief Justice (the Head of the Judiciary in England and Wales) and Heads of Division (Master of the Rolls, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, President of the Family Division, and Chancellor of the High Court) and the Supreme Court. Our focus is therefore only on appointments to senior courts in England and Wales and to the UK Supreme Court, and not to senior judicial offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Polling Highlights

Separate polling, carried out by Professor Matthew Goodwin, found the following:

“The European Court of Human Rights should be able to block the UK from deporting foreign criminals”.

A clear majority of 59% of all voters oppose this and only 15% support it. 58% of Red Wall voters, 83% of Conservatives and 81% of Leavers[1] oppose the ECHR being able to block the UK from deporting foreign criminals.

“The UK should be able to deport a violent foreign criminal who is receiving NHS care even if this is to a country where standards of medical care are lower than those in the UK”.

A clear majority of 61% agree with this and only 9% oppose. 63% of Red wall voters, 83% of Conservatives and 79% of Leavers support deporting a violent foreign criminal in these circumstances.

“The European Court of Human Rights should be able to override decisions that are made in Britain”.

A plurality of 41% of all voters oppose this, with 29% in favour. 46% of Red Wall voters, 72% of Conservatives and 67% of Leavers oppose the ECHR being able to override domestic decisions.

“The European Court of Human Rights recently blocked efforts by the British government to send people who were seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda. One anonymous judge of the European Court of Human Rights intervened to block the first flight to Rwanda”.

A plurality of 38% of all voters oppose the intervention, with 34% in favour. 42% of Red Wall voters, 69% of Conservatives and 74% of Leavers oppose the ECHR intervention.

“If it were necessary in order to prevent illegal migrants and asylum-seekers crossing the English Channel on small boats, the UK should withdraw from the European

Convention on Human Rights.”
Voters are divided on this, with 33% in favour and 33% against. But 43% of Red Wall voters, 62% of Conservatives and 58% of Leavers support leaving the ECHR in this circumstance.

“In 2020, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Britain had “acted disproportionately” when it deported a Nigerian man who had been convicted of multiple serious criminal offences and whose three children were registered as

UK citizens”.
A plurality of 42% of all voters oppose the ECHR ruling, with 22% in favour. 45% of Red Wall voters, 66% of Conservatives and 64% of Leavers oppose the ruling.