ISBN: 071900702X 9780719007026

Category: Unavailable

Page count: 224

How neutral are our courts and judges? Can they be influenced by political pressures? How deep is the involvement of the judiciary with politics? This controversial book looks at the political role of the judiciary in the government of the country. Industrial relations, police powers, racial discrimination, property rights and conspiracy are all areas where in recent years the judiciary has had to make political decisions. Yet judges come almost exclusively from one social class, are not selected 'democratically' and may be less neutral than we imagine. J. A. G. Griffith looks at how judges are chosen and the kind of people they are. He examines a series of cases where judicial decisions had political implications, and discusses the extrajudicial work judges may be asked to do. Finally he asks whether the necessary and inevitable involvement of the judiciary with politics can be in the public interest.