NCJ Number
191004
Journal
Criminal Justice: The International Journal of Policy and Practice Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 105-128
Date Published
February 2001
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This article reviews the way in which the government-led public service modernization agenda is affecting courts in England and Wales.
Abstract
Modernization is what public servants involved across the spectrum of governmental activity are now expected to do to the processes and institutions for which they are responsible. Courts and the judiciary, being constitutionally separate from the executive arm of government under the doctrine of the “separation of powers,” need to approach the Government’s modernization agenda with some circumspection because of its essentially executive branch roots. The courts should be exercising greater responsibility for developing their own modernization project to suit the particular circumstances and conditions of the judicial branch of the state. The seven tenets of modernization are doing it all together, doing it better, doing it cost-effectively, doing it democratically, doing it efficiently, doing it faster, and doing it for government. The process of modernization has been both beneficial and damaging to the courts at the same time. It has provided a welcome challenge to any tendencies toward inertia, idiosyncrasy and complacency and ensured that the courts are changing with the times and becoming more conscious of public expectations. But it has also contributed to a blurring of the constitutional boundaries and has weakened the sense of independence of the judiciary, particularly from the influence of executive branch government. Court modernization needs to reflect the purposes and values of the judicial branch and needs to reflect more of its own agendas, rather than the same kinds of reforms that have been defined in and for other public services. Four themes are proposed as key elements for a court modernization project: the frameworks for finance, jurisdictions, sentencing, and public accountability. 22 references