Grayling's imposition of high, blanket fees for bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal caused a reduction of approximately 70% of claims. Press Association/Nick Ansell. All rights reserved.
If, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, government is of the people, by the people and for the people, the independent role of the courts and the judiciary is crucial. The executive functions of government, exercised by the cabinet moderated only partially by elected members of Parliament, must be carried out lawfully, and it is the job of the judges to make sure they are.
The Supreme Court has now ruled in favour of a challenge by the trade union Unison to the imposition of fees (by the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013) on those seeking justice in the employment tribunals. Their decision to declare charging fees for access to the tribunals illegal is of fundamental constitutional importance. Judges are no longer merely the interpreters of the law. Nor is their responsibility limited to seeing that it is enforced. The law, as the Supreme Court has now determined it to be, requires the judges to ensure that access to justice is available to all.
