Survey Reveals That UK Lawyers Back Woolf's Criticism Of Judicial Reforms

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

19 March 2004

A survey recently conducted by the Legal Week news service in conjunction with EJ Legal has revealed that the majority of senior lawyers support the criticisms of the UK government's planned reforms of the legal sector made by Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf earlier this month.

In a recent speech, Lord Woolf suggested that the proposed new supreme court would be "second class", and argued that the supreme court bill's second reading in the House of Lords should be deferred if no decision could be reached on a suitable building to house the body.

He also warned that the creation of such a court could cause tensions between the judiciary and Parliament.

Lord Woolf's criticisms of the reform process in general, and the supreme court plans in particular, were then taken up by a group of former law lords, cross benchers, and Conservatives, who vowed to derail the reform process by referring the matter to a special select committee.

Of the 100 leading lawyers questioned for the Legal Week/EJ Legal Big Question survey, 91% backed the Lord Chief Justice's stance, with a mere 9% feeling that he should have lobbied the government in private.

The survey also revealed a split over the potential threat to judicial independence posed by the planned reforms, with 47% of respondents suggesting that the initiative would increase judicial independence, and 53% arguing that the reforms would undermine the judiciary.

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