The English Judges

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. ...developments are chronicled by Robert Stevens sometime Master of Pembroke and a long-time student of the judiciary with characteristic elegance irony and balance." Michael Beloff The Spectator "The particular strength of Steven's work lies in his ability to offer extensive descriptions of the various debates and actors involved in the controversies surrounding the English versions of the countermajoritarian difficulty in a way which is at once scholarly and accessible." David Fraser The Law and Politics Book Review