Clause 1

Part of Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 9:00 am on 15 March 2007.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Vera Baird Vera Baird Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs 9:00, 15 March 2007

The purpose of the clause is manifest. It puts beyond doubt the fact that the tribunal judiciary are independent of the Executive. It does so by ensuring that the duty on the Lord Chancellor and other Ministers of the Crown to uphold the continued judicial independence of the judiciary, which is enshrined in section 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, extends to all the tribunals for which the Lord Chancellor is responsible. That includes the employment tribunals in Scotland and criminal injuries compensation appeal panel adjudicators appointed by Scottish Ministers under section 5 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995. The guarantee also covers non-legal members of tribunals, as well as the legally qualified ones.

It is right that the Bill begins by making it clear that tribunals have the same constitutional and legal guarantee of independence as the courts, and I ask that the clause stand part of the Bill.