Separation of power in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Separation of power in the UK - Essay Example The principle of separation of powers had leveraged many constitution makers, philosophers like Montesquieu whom all had intense thinking to this maxim. Even though the United Kingdom constitution is unwritten, it is a golden doctrine of separation of powers for other countries to follow. Back in 1748, Montesquieu- a French jurist- put forward his hypothesis that â€Å"there can be no freedom† and thought, â€Å"Everything would terminate if the judicial, legislative and executive powers of the government were to be involved by the same individual or authority. In the United Kingdom, the law is separated into three powers; judicial, executive and legislative. The judiciary plays an important role in United Kingdom politics. The judiciary comprises of, the royal court, Supreme Court, crown court and the magistrate courts. It should be apolitical, and any rulings made, for instance on government legislation, must be in a free and fair manner without any element of political bias (Lovell, 2003; p 54). Nevertheless, different aspects about Judiciary raise a string of questions lately: judicial supremacy, judicial independence and judicial neutrality. The courts of England are Crown Court’s jurisdiction is strong because of the power of the Crown. The executive oversees the function of the Crown with relevance to Royal prerogative. The executive has no right to delay the process of common justice. It is a law that goes back down the memory lane over a century ago. Moreover, the executive has no mandate to pressure judges. Especially into acting in ways other than impartiality. In the Act of settlement in 1701, judges in higher courts had the privilege of remaining judges as long as they had shown â€Å"good behavior†. If they were guilty of bad behavior then a legal approach to have them fired was an option. For the large number of judges, there is no such thing. Thus, it guarantees them a security of tenure within their