Pressure Groups and Judicial Review in the UK

As the Summer holiday continues, there have been two recent court cases which illustrate in one way or another the relationship between the judiciary and the law-makers in the UK.

Probably useful for G&P students in unit 2, although any question about pressure groups should probably mention this too.

3 terminally-ill men requested the right to die, and their battle went all the way to the Supreme Court. Most of their case was rejected; details can be found here on this BBC page. The BBC's health correspondent has a blog posting about it here.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said this:

In the judgement, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge said Parliament represented "the conscience of the nation" when it came to addressing life and death issues, such as abortions and the death penalty.

"Judges, however eminent, do not: our responsibility is to discover the relevant legal principles, and apply the law as we find it."

In other words, the Supreme Court in the UK is very different to that of the US; in the UK the court is not prepared to pass laws from the bench, whereas in the US, the Supreme Court is prepared to make judgements which have the effect of law-making.

Another case which caught my eye is where a pressure group went to court to stop the closing of a hospital. Lewisham hospital in SE London will not close, thanks to the effort of the group "Save Lewisham Hospital". The government is probably going to appeal the decision, but for now it's a great example of a local pressure group taking action to change government policy.

[Picture Credit - Save Lewisham Hospital & BBC News]