SEPARATION OF POWERS: 20 YEARS OF THE COMMONWEALTH LATIMER HOUSE PRINCIPLES
COMMONWEALTH LATIMER HOUSE PRINCIPLES - 20th ANNIVERSARY: A LAWYER’S PERSPECTIVE The Immediate Past President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association shares his view. The Commonwealth (Latimer House) Principles on the three branches of government (the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles or CLHP) were both far-sighted and far-reaching. They remain as relevant and important today as they were when adopted at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Abuja, Nigeria in November 2003. During the four years in which I was President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), I regularly referenced the CLHP in statements or speeches. The Commonwealth Latimer House Principles deal, of course, with the three branches of government (the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary). That three-cornered separation is a strong and fundamental foundation for democracy. However, the CLHP are a rich source of other observations, principles and guidelines which also enhance the appropriate functioning of democracy. Democracy is experiencing challenge in 2023, perhaps not anticipated in 2003. The use of instant communications, artificial intelligence and the development of what seems to be a play book of steps to be taken by autocrats and dictators, all threaten the foundations of democracy. Public statements disrespecting the judiciary do not help. Overreaching power grabs by governments do not help. A lack of effective opposition and accountability also deprives societies of democracy operating within the Rule of Law. The importance of preserving the confidence of the people in the institutions by which they are governed is relevant and important. 20 years on from the adoption in Abuja of the CLHP it is appropriate to reflect on how these Principles have contributed and can contribute to the preservation of an effective democracy. Others reflecting on the CLHP will no doubt consider the Principles from the point of view of the Government or Parliament or the Judiciary. From the perspective of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), I would like to focus on what the Principles have to say about the role of women, about the legal profession, about civil society and about freedom of the press. These are not categories that deal with the three branches of government, but they are also fundamental to upholding democratic values in a society respectful of the Rule of Law. Twenty years ago, it was far-sighted to include reference to the role of women in democracy in the CLHP. Principle V b states that subject to merit and proven integrity being the criteria of eligibility for
appointment to public office “measures may be taken…to ensure that the holders of all public offices generally reflect the composition of the community in terms of gender,…”. The Latimer House Guidelines for the Commonwealth (the Guidelines) out of which evolved the Principles, specifically encourage improvement in the number of women participating in politics and encourages Commonwealth member states to proactively seek women candidates to stand for election and to use imaginatively proportional representation to assist in the election of women. There is also an encouragement to publish data and information as to the degree of representation of women in politics. The encouragement in the Principles to take measures to ensure in effect that public bodies are reflective of the community and of genders is striking. However, twenty years on has the representation of women in public life improved? At present, there are many Chief Justices of Commonwealth member states who are women. In 2021, in my home jurisdiction of Northern Ireland, Dame Siobhan Keegan was appointed Lady Chief Justice. At the recent CLA conference in Goa, India in March 2023, delegates were addressed by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, the Lady Chief Justice of Malaysia who was joined in a judicial session by the future Lady Chief Justice of India. In England and Wales just recently, Dame Sue Carr was appointed to become the first woman to hold the office of Chief Justice in England and Wales. Hopefully these prominent women will continue to encourage the role of women in public office. The CLA is primarily an organisation of legal practitioners. While the judiciary is rightly emphasised as one of the key pillars of democracy, a vibrant independent legal professional also has an important place. The CLA stands robustly in favour of an independently appointed judiciary, properly financed, with permanent appointments made by an independent Judicial Appointments Commission. Judicial appointments are a controversial matter in most Commonwealth jurisdictions and a session at the 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference in Goa in March 2023 was devoted to a consideration of judicial appointments. However important is the role of the Judiciary, it is noteworthy that the Commonwealth Latimer House Principles also acknowledge the
Brian H. Speers LL.B. is the Immediate Past President of the Commonwealth Lawyers
Association (2019-2023). He practices as a solicitor in Belfast, Northern Ireland where he is managing partner of CMG Cunningham Dickey Solicitors. His work involves real estate and planning law for commercial and residential housing developers, and he acts as Trustee for some high-net-worth clients. In 2010-11, he served as President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland and he is now the Treasurer. He is one of the most experienced legal mediators in Northern Ireland. He devised and teaches on the mediation training course for Judges, Barristers and Solicitors and has lectured on mediation across the Commonwealth. In April 2021, he was appointed as Chair of the Commonwealth Games Federation Ethics Commission.
298 | The Parliamentarian | 2023: Issue Four | 100 years of publishing
