The Supreme Court should make sure the common law “doesn’t get overlooked”, Lord Neuberger, the court’s President has said.
Years ago, “judges with the Human Rights Act were like children with a new toy—I think we got very excited about the Act and sometimes not about the common law,” he said, in an interview with the UKSC Blog.
“They’re not antithetical—the two should march together. I think part of our function now is to make sure the common law gets developed and doesn’t get overlooked.”
On criticism against judges for being “subservient” to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, he acknowledged there was “something to be said for the [that] view”. However, he said the courts needed to “think long and hard” before departing from Strasbourg’s view because they need to maintain consistency in Europe and to avoid cases being referred to Strasbourg.
