by Scott Ott
(2004-03-09) -- The U.K. House of Lords early this morning approved a revised measure creating a 'Supreme Court' to replace the current panel of legal lords, drawn from the House of Lords itself, which had been the highest appellate jurisdiction in the United Kingdom.
Conservative opponents of the plan had initially delayed consideration of the bill, but acquiesced when they discovered that the new Supreme Court would be modeled on the highly-effective and equitable U.S. Supreme Court. In exchange for their votes, the conservatives also demanded that justices on the new court wear a 'supreme wig' over the traditional powdered wig.
Like the U.S. Supreme Court, the British court will consist of non-political, impartial justices who interpret the law as it affects specific cases, always with an eye to preserving the original intent of the framers of the nation's founding documents.
Advocates of the new court say the old system of allowing law lords to rule on the laws they help write in the House of Lords undercuts the will of the people, and exposes the law lords to allegations of political bias.
"We look forward to the day," said an unnamed lord, "when the decisions of our highest court are above reproach because, like America, we have removed politics from the equation."
Meanwhile, in the House of Commons, a competing proposal would select three Members of Parliament as a 'high court of the people' called 'mp3'. Opponents, however, said advocates of the mp3 plan are "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Donate | More Satire | Printer-Friendly |
Editor's Picks
