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Article: Justice delayed by a shortage of law lords
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- January 9, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2000 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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KEY judicial decisions are being delayed for months because the
Government has appointed law lords to chair official inquiries or
sent them abroad to help foreign governments.
The law lords - who make up the final court of appeal, the
highest court in the land - have been effectively operating at three-
quarter strength for more than a year, leading to a backlog of
cases.
Normally, there are 12 law lords and they usually sit in panels
of five to consider decisions. All the lords involved in the case
must be present when the result is reached and given.
However, the Government has appointed two of the 12 to chair top-
level inquiries and another has been lent by ministers to a foreign ...