1) Key Facts list 45 key points in the article that help support the decision the court made 2) Write what you think the Issue of the case wasin the form of a question 3) Which judicial philosophy was followed in making the decision for this case What impact do you think this decision will have on business in the United States

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It is vitally important in a democracy that individual judges and the judiciary as a whole are impartial and independent of all external pressures and of each other so that those who appear before them and the wider public can have confidence that their cases will be decided fairly and in accordance with the law When carrying out their judicial function they must be free of any improper influence Such influence could come from any number of sources It could arise from improper pressure by the executive or the legislature by individual litigants particular pressure groups the media selfinterest or other judges in particular more senior judges Why is independence important It is vital that each judge is able to decide cases solely on the evidence presented in court by the parties and in accordance with the law Only relevant facts and law should form the basis of a judges decision Only in this way can judges discharge their constitutional responsibility to provide fair and impartial justice to do justice as Lord Brougham a 19th Century Lord Chancellor put it between man and man or as Lord Clarke former Master of the Rolls put it more recently in 2005 between citizen and citizen or between citizen and the state The responsibilities of judges in disputes between the citizen and the state have increased together with the growth in governmental functions over the last century The responsibility of the judiciary to protect citizens against unlawful acts of government has thus increased and with it the need for the judiciary to be independent of government Independence and the appearance of independence As well as in fact being independent in this way it is of vital importance that judges are seen to be both independent and impartial Justice must not only be done it must be seen to be done It was for this reason that the House of Lords in the Pinochet case in 1999 held that a decision it had given had to be set aside and the appeal before it heard again by a panel of different Law Lords It had come to light after the original decision that one of the Law Lords might have given an appearance that he was not independent and impartial because of a connection with a campaigning organisation which was involved in the case In those circumstances and even though there was no suggestion that the Law Lord was not in fact independent or impartial the decision could not stand Justice demanded that the appeal be heard again before a panel of Law Lords who had and gave the appearance to reasonable wellinformed observers that they were independent and impartial The ways in which independence is protected and its limits Whilst an independent and impartial judiciary is one of the cornerstones of a democracy the practical ways in which this is given effect are often treated with suspicion For example judges are given immunity from prosecution for any acts they carry out in performance of their judicial function They also benefit from immunity from being sued for defamation for the things they say about parties or witnesses in the course of hearing cases These principles have led some people to suggest that Judges are somehow above the law However it is not right to say that Judges are above the law Judges are subject to the law in the same way as any other citizen The Lord Chief Justice or Lord Chancellor may refer a judge to the Judicial Complaints Investigations Office in order to establish whether it would be appropriate to remove them from office in circumstances where they have been found to have committed a criminal offence Judicial independence does however mean that judges must be free to exercise their judicial powers without interference from litigants the State the media or powerful individuals or entities such as large companies This is an important principle because judges often decide matters between the citizen and the state and between citizens and powerful entities For example it is clearly inappropriate for the judge in charge of a criminal trial against an individual citizen to be influenced by the state It would be unacceptable for the judge to come under pressure to admit or not admit certain evidence how to direct the jury or to pass a particular sentence Decisions must be made on the basis of the facts of the case and the law alone Judicial independence is important whether the judge is dealing with a civil or a criminal case Individuals involved in any kind of case before the ... View the full answer