Thread by @AdamWagner1

Exactly, political is not something that can be distilled like a chemical and taken away from important legal decisions. We should not be concerned about politics but about the separation of powers between the executive, judiciary, and legislature

https://twitter.com/shoaibmkhan/status/1451525226332934153

Politics is just what the public and politicians are concerned about at any particular moment. It is a movable feast. Courts exist to interpret the law of the land, they should not have to also interpret an indefinable and shape shifting concept of “politics“

Issues come in and out of public interest, for example whilst the Covid regulations may now be considered highly politically sensitive, in a couple of years they may not be, but the law itself has not altered and the court’s role should not either

Obviously, when a legal issue in the public eye it is inconvenient to politicians if the court’s disagree with their interpretation of the law. But that is a political inconvenience which the courts should not have to be concerned about

Within that framework there is space for deference to certain kinds of decisions, for example where there is new straightforward answer from a legal perspective and ultimately a policy decision is one best left to the legislature or even the government.

But, ultimately, the government sets policy, the legislature makes laws and the courts interpret them, this check and balance is a healthy one which will help society. Adding a proviso that courts should stay away from “political“ issues is unhelpful to that balance

* no not new

One more point, it is up to Parliament what courts do or do not get involved in because they decide laws. The human rights act, equality act and other legislation which protects our rights also involves courts in certain issues which may be at any given time politically sensitive

It has become so entrenched amongst certain conservatives to criticise individual human rights decisions as if they were not precisely what the courts were asked to do by parliament when it enacted the human rights act that I’m not even sure they know they’re doing it.

As I have said for at least 10 years, this creates a dissonance because politicians perhaps don’t even realise the courts are doing what they themselves have asked the courts to do.

Which is that