Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information ASHES AND SPARKS As a practising barrister, the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Sedley wrote widely on legal and non-legal matters, and continued to do so aft er becoming a judge in 1992. Th is anthology contains classic articles, previously unpublished essays and lecture transcripts. To each, he has added refl ections on what has transpired since or an explanation of the British legal and political context that originally prompted it. Covering the history, engineering and architecture of the justice system, their common theme relates to the author’s experiences as a barrister and judge, most notably in relation to the constitutional changes which have emerged in the last twenty years in the United Kingdom. Th e Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Sedley is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. Since being called to the Bar in 1964, he has been involved in high-profi le cases and inquiries including the death of Blair Peach, the Bridgewater Four and Stefan Kiszko appeals and the contempt hearing against Kenneth Baker, then Home Secretary. He became a QC in 1983 and was appointed a High Court judge in 1992, serving in the Queen’s Bench Division. In 1999 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal as a Lord Justice of Appeal. He has sat as a judge ad hoc of the European Court of Human Rights and on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He is currently an honorary Professor of Law at Warwick University and the University of Wales at Cardiff , and a Judicial Visitor at University College, London. His many lectures include the 1995 Paul Sieghart Memorial Lecture, the 1996 Radcliff e Lectures (with Lord Nolan), the 1998 Hamlyn Lectures, the 2005 Holdsworth Lecture and the 2006 Blackstone Lecture. He chaired the Judicial Studies Board’s working party on the Human Rights Act 1998 and has, since 1999, been President of the British Institute of Human Rights. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information ASHES AND SPARKS Essays on Law and Justice by S T E P H E N S E D L E Y © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 314-321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi - 110025, India 79 Anson Road, #06-04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521170901 © Stephen Sedley 2011 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2011 3rd printing 2013 A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Sedley, Stephen. Ashes and sparks : essays on law and justice / Stephen Sedley. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-107-00095-7 (hardback) 1. Law–Great Britain. 2. Human rights. I. Title. KD358.S43 2011 349.41–dc22 2010051860 ISBN 978-1-107-00095-7 Hardback ISBN 978-0-521-17090-1 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information for Tia © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information C O N T E N T S P r e f a c e p a g e ix A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s xix part i History 1 1 V i c t o r s ’ j u s t i c e 3 2 A b o v e i t a l l 1 7 3 R e a d i n g t h e i r r i g h t s 2 9 4 F r o m v i c t i m t o s u s p e c t 4 2 5 F a r e w e l l s o v e r e i g n t y 4 9 6 N o l a w a t a l l 5 6 7 Th e sound of silence 64 8 Th e spark in the ashes 88 9 W r i n g i n g o u t t h e f a u l t 1 0 1 1 0 E v e r y t h i n g a n d n o t h i n g 1 2 2 1 1 S k u l l s a n d c r o s s b o n e s 1 3 1 p a r t i i L a w 1 3 9 1 2 J u s t i c e m i s c a r r i e d 1 4 1 1 3 B r e a k i n g t h e l a w 1 4 7 1 4 D e c l i n i n g t h e b r i e f 1 5 3 1 5 B i g l a w y e r s a n d l i t t l e l a w y e r s 1 6 1 1 6 P a r l i a m e n t , g o v e r n m e n t , c o u r t s 1 7 0 1 7 J u d g e s i n l o d g i n g s 1 8 1 vii © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information viii contents 1 8 M i c e p e e p i n g o u t o f o a k u m 1 8 7 1 9 J u s t i c e i n C h i l e 1 9 2 2 0 N e v e r d o a n y t h i n g f o r t h e fi r s t t i m e 2 0 2 1 R a r e l y p u r e a n d n e v e r s i m p l e 2 1 3 2 2 L a w a n d p l u m b i n g 2 2 5 2 3 Th e Laws of Documents 228 part iii Justice 1 32 2 4 Th e right to know 233 2 5 Th e moral economy of judicial review 246 2 6 P o l i c y a n d l a w 2 5 5 2 7 R e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d t h e l a w 2 6 3 2 8 Th e Crown in its own courts 269 2 9 H u m a n r i g h t s – w h o n e e d s t h e m ? 2 8 5 3 0 F u n d a m e n t a l v a l u e s – b u t w h i c h ? 2 9 5 3 1 O v e r c o m i n g p r a g m a t i s m 3 0 2 3 2 S e x , l i b e l s a n d v i d e o - s u r v e i l l a n c e 3 1 1 3 3 Th i s b e a t s m e 3 25 3 4 P u b l i c i n q u i r i e s : a c u r e o r a d i s e a s e ? 3 3 5 3 5 H u m a n r i g h t s : a t w e n t y - fi rst century agenda 348 3 6 A r e h u m a n r i g h t s u n i v e r s a l , a n d d o e s i t m a t t e r ? 3 6 5 3 7 B r i n g i n g r i g h t s h o m e : t i m e t o s t a r t a f a m i l y ? 3 7 7 3 8 Th e four wise monkeys visit the marketplace of ideas 391 I n d e x 407 © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-17090-1 — Ashes and Sparks Stephen Sedley Frontmatter More Information P R E F A C E I I wish I could present this collection of lectures and articles as a rounded philosophy of law and justice.