By V. Ramakrishnan.
The
Constitutional Reform
Act 2005 can be seen as the Government's response to the make necessary amendments to the British Constitution as per the needs of the
Rule of Law.
Needs and Necessity for the Change as per the Rule of
Law &
Separation of Powers.
* * * * * * *
The Cause for the Constitutional amendment Act of 2005 of Britain.
Needs and Necessity for the Change.
The whole
world having been a victim of the scourge of the Second World War and in order to bring peace to the world created a more effective body called ‘United Nations Organisation’ (herein shortly called ‘UNO’) in the place of the old ‘League of Nations’ that could not thwart the Second World War. The United Kingdom (herein after called as UK) was also the original signatory to this. Under the aegis of ‘UNO’ the need to care for the Human Rights was born. It gave to the political pundits an idea of ‘supranational’ colouring to the ‘UNO’ that actually never took shape.
This supranational concept and the awareness of the Human Rights ushered the European Nations to sign a Treaty called, ‘European Convention on Human Rights’. Thus by ‘Treaty of Rome 1958’wherby the ultimate aim of the treaty was to achieve the economic and political unity of Europe because it was the worst victim of the Second World War led to the formation of the ‘European Economic Community’. United Kingdom having been a signatory to the ‘European Communities Act 1972 on January 1st 1973 joined the community.
Thus, it made obligatory for the UK’s parliament to enact the ‘Human Rights Act of 1998’ to have remedy under the English courts instead of driving them to seek remedy at ‘European Courts of Human Rights’ at ‘Strasbourg’, because making a citizen of its own nation would be forced to seek a remedy against its own government at some other court would lead to the erosion of the concept of sovereignty.
This is as per the ‘Rule of Law’ to make rules in the Municipal system to recognise the conventions to which UK is a signatory. The same situation also crystallised the situation for the UK to enact the ‘Constitutional Reform Act 2005’. This act has shown the ‘Separation of Powers’ as per the ‘Rule of Law’ to mark the independence of judiciary by bringing out the ‘Law Lords’ from Legislative functioning and to ensure the independence of judiciary for a fair trial as per the Article 6 of the European Conventions for Human Rights.
Rule of Law & Separation of Powers.
The first man who coined this phrase into the constitutional law of England was A.V. Dicey though the original roots were there in the Roman and Greek laws but this word has actually partaken the colour of the constitutional law. According to the Rule of Law there should be the separation of
Powers as per any political pundit and this thought of separation of powers though attributed to “Montesquieu” in his book ‘L’ Esprit des Lois” published in 1748 where he says,“
Again, there is no liberty if the judicial power be not separated from the legislative and executive. Were it joined with the legislative, the life and liberty of the subject would be exposed to arbitrary control.’ For the judge would then be the legislator. Were it joined to the executive power the judge might behave with violence and oppression.There would be an end of everything where the same man, or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people, to exercise those three powers, that of enacting laws, executing public resolution, and trying the causes of individuals”.This idea was not new but actually can be seen with Aristotle, who has referred to it, John Locke (1632-1704) who postulated the same doctrine in his ’Second Treatise on Civil Government’ and by Blackstone in his ‘Commentaries on the Laws of England” (1765). According to A.V. Dicey, in his book, ‘The Law of the Constitution’ Seventh Edition 1908, gave three meaning of the Rule of Law, thus,
1.Absence of Arbitrary Pwer or Supremacy of the Law, 2. Equality before the law, and 3
.The Constitution is the Result of the Ordinary Law of the Land
Thus,the act bewly legilsated by Britain by moving out of the Law Lords from the House of Lords has really caused the real separation of powers in consonance of the Rule of Law
Conclusion.
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 can be seen as the Government's response to the make necessary amendments to the British Constitution as per the needs of the Rule of Law.
More summaries about the The Cause for the Constitutional amendment Act of 2005 of Britain.