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No Dissent in the Supreme Court

There is a political theory known as the Overton Window. If a politician wants longevity in today’s world he must operate within an acceptable spectrum and not express views deemed too radical or unpalatable to the public. At any given moment the Window includes a range of policies deemed politically acceptable in the current climate of public opinion. It appears a similar principle is being adopted in the UK Supreme Court which has now been going for 5 years. The object is to eliminate any dissenting judgments leaving us with a bland unanimity. Lord Neuberger, the President of the UK Supreme Court is striving for shorter judgments and unanimity if possible. Is this conformity the correct approach, the majority of the UK Supreme Court seem to think so. However single judgments according to one justice are likely to render the law ’more monolithic and less flexible’.

 

Bivonas Law LLP John Bechelet
John Bechelet

John specialises in commercial and civil fraud litigation. Admitted as a solicitor in 1983, John worked in private practice and in-house for a leading life assurance company before establishing Bivonas with Antony Brown in 1997. John has extensive experience in a wide range of courts and tribunals including the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Divisional Court. He has been involved in a number of important reported cases.

There is a political theory known as the Overton Window. If a politician wants longevity in today’s world he must operate within an acceptable spectrum and not express views deemed too radical or unpalatable to the public. At any given moment the Window includes a range of policies deemed politically acceptable in the current climate of public opinion. It appears a similar principle is being adopted in the UK Supreme Court which has now been going for 5 years. The object is to eliminate any dissenting judgments leaving us with a bland unanimity. Lord Neuberger, the President of the UK Supreme Court is striving for shorter judgments and unanimity if possible. Is this conformity the correct approach, the majority of the UK Supreme Court seem to think so. However single judgments according to one justice are likely to render the law ’more monolithic and less flexible’.

 

Bivonas Law LLP John Bechelet
John Bechelet

John specialises in commercial and civil fraud litigation. Admitted as a solicitor in 1983, John worked in private practice and in-house for a leading life assurance company before establishing Bivonas with Antony Brown in 1997. John has extensive experience in a wide range of courts and tribunals including the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Divisional Court. He has been involved in a number of important reported cases.

John Bechelet

About the author

John Bechelet

John specialises in commercial and civil fraud litigation. Admitted as a solicitor in 1983, John worked in private practice and in-house for a leading life assurance company before establishing Bivonas with Antony Brown in 1997. John has extensive experience in a wide range of courts and tribunals including the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Divisional Court. He has been involved in a number of important reported cases.