The state of the rule of law in the UK is to come under scrutiny by a high-powered committee of peers with members including a former lord chief justice. The House of Lords Constitution Committee today invited written contributions into an inquiry ‘seeking to understand the rule of law as a constitutional principle and what the state of the rule of law is in the UK’.
According to the announcement, the committee will consider the different understandings of the rule of law, both at home and internationally, and explore how the principle works in practice across parliament, the judiciary and the executive. The inquiry will also consider the role of education, the media and civic society.
Questions the committee is seeking evidence on include:
- What are the components of the rule of law?
- How well is the rule of law understood by politicians and the public?
- What threatens the effective operation of the rule of law in the UK?
- What are the respective roles for parliament, the government’s and the judiciary in upholding the rule of law?
- Are the roles being performed well, and how can they be improved?
Members of the committee, chaired by Lord Strathclyde (Tom Strathclyde), include the former lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, as well as former justice minister Lord Bellamy.
Lord Strathclyde said: ‘The current government has identified upholding the rule of law as one of its key priorities. The attorney general has argued that the UK needs to strengthen parliament’s role in upholding the rule of law and promote a rule of law culture, but does this have any real meaning in practice?
‘Recent debates in parliament have shown that there continues to be disagreement about what the rule of law means and what it encompasses, with some commentators suggesting that the rule of law has either come under threat in the UK or is encouraging greater judicial activism. Therefore, as a committee we have set out to seek answers on what this principle means today.’
The deadline for submissions of written evidence is 5pm on 15 April.
