Wednesday 9 February 2011

Raging Imbalance

Tony Blair set up the Supreme Court to enhance independence by the judiciary. This has become a raging issue. Last night the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Phillips, gave a talk in London on Judicial Independence (which he believes is under threat).
This site has no quibbles with judicial independence. Judges should apply the law independent of political interference.
However, the reality is that judges interpret the law and the result, in effect, is that they determine the law.
In BBC 4's programme on the Supreme Court (27 January 2011) Lady Hale said: "We, of course, can say that decisions of earlier - or lower - courts are wrong."
Lord Phillips also remarked that judicial decisions can change. He added: "Fundamental human rights are of fundamental importance."
Lord Hope gave human rights as the reason why a homosexual cannot be deported. This may be a one-off case. But it doesn't stop there. It is not just one person who is affected. The law applies to all (foreign) homosexuals. And then there is chain migration. They marry and have (or adopt) children....
Uganda is said to be a country hostile to homosexuals (Metro, 8 February 2011, page 7).
If you (?) or I were to go to other countries there would be a time constraint (visa and/or entry permit). There is rarely any recourse to the law to over-ride that constraint.
This is evidence that, in the UK, not only does the legislature not make the law; but that the system is fundamentally unequal and unfair.
Gross inequality persists in part because people in transnational marriages are able to choose which country they want to live in. This is not open to people who marry people of the same nationality. (As outlined above.)
Where is that quintessence of justice - balance?
Balance could be restored if judges prosecute those politicians responsible for allowing foreign men to live and work in the UK through marriage.