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Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill [HL]

My Lords, I find myself in complete agreement with all the previous speakers on this amendment. There is an important distinction between High Court judges and all other judges, a distinction that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, brought out in his speech. High Court judges can be dismissed only on an address of both Houses of Parliament; whereas all other judges can be dismissed by decision of the Lord Chancellor in conjunction with the Lord Chief Justice. So the constitutional status of High Court judges is very different from the status of other judges. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, rightly said, it is increasingly, and lamentably, the case that judges are criticised by politicians. They need the robust protection that High Court judges have under our constitution. It was particularly interesting in listening to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, to learn that the Lord Chief Justice’s concerns are not constitutional ones. It appears that he absolutely accepts the importance of High Court judges hearing judicial review matters. His concerns are matters of practicality. There may be circumstances in which there are simply not sufficient High Court judges to serve the needs of the upper tribunal; therefore, he is seeking some flexibility in that respect. I think that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, who rightly feels so strongly about this, nevertheless has to take that concern into account in deciding what to do about his amendment. I am completely at one with the noble and learned Lord and he will have our support from these Benches.