The English Judges Their Role in the Changing Constitution

This is the paperback edition of Robert Stevens' acclaimed study of the English Judiciary from an historical perspective, with especial reference to its changing role in the 20th Century. Though the book was written and originally published before the most recent constitutional reforms were announced, it nonetheless brilliantly anticipated the direction in which the debate would move, and provides much valuable food for thought for those charged with shaping the role of the judiciary within the new constitutional settlement.

The centrepiece of the book is a detailed study of the political influences on the judiciary and the influence the judiciary has had on politics in the 20th Century. It concludes with a series of proposed reforms to ensure that the English judiciary will both maintain its strength but enhance its utility in the 21st Century. It offers no simple-minded argument for separation of powers but analyses what is needed to clarify the balance of powers and to advance the debate about the role of an unelected judiciary in an increasingly democratic society.