A View from the Supreme Court

Funding arrangements do not 'satisfactorily guarantee' the Supreme Court's institutional independence, said Lord Phillips (President of the Court) in his lecture at UCL last night, launching the Constitution Unit's project on the politics of judicial independence. Ruchi Parekh, an intern at the UCL Constitution Unit, summarises below the key points of Lord Phillips? lecture. ?Lord Phillips noted that because the original revenue streams envisaged for the court have not produced the amounts anticipated (Supreme Court souvenirs were one of the more unusual elements of this original plan) the court has effectively become dependent on a contribution from the Ministry of Justice in England and Wales for its operation - a stark contrast with the secure line of funding originally envisaged by Parliament for the new court. The result of this is that there is a 'tendency on the part of the Ministry of Justice to try to gain the Supreme Court as an outlying part of its empire'. While this is the first time this issue has been voiced by the President of the court, there have been rumblings of discontent within the judiciary about court funding. Given the Government's commitment to the reduction of public sector spending, this is a battle that is likely to run for some time. Lord Phillips also discussed the administration of the court.