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Journalism of Courage
Existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction WMD and their imminent use was the prime justification for the invasion of Iraq. So far there has been no 8216;discovery8217; of these weapons. Understandably the very legitimacy of the Iraq war has been questioned. There are strong demands for an independent Commission of Inquiry in the UK and investigation by a Senate Committee in the US.
A new twist has been given to this matter by the proposed judicial review of the Iraq war sought in an English Court. The thrust of the challenge is Attorney General Lord Goldsmith8217;s advice to the government that attacking Iraq was covered by existing international law despite the absence of a second UN resolution.
Singh opines that quintessentially it is the task of independent judges rather than politicians to decide questions of law and assess evidence. It is problematic whether English courts will entertain such an application and enter into the arena of hotly disputed facts.
Whatever be the outcome Goldsmith cannot be faulted because he rendered his opinion on the basis of the facts stated in the case for opinion. Counsel, including law officers, are not expected to personally verify the correctness of the written instructions. They are entitled to assume their factual accuracy and opine on that basis. Apparently attorney generals are more sinned against than sinning, also in the UK.
Exit Lord Chancellor
The general notion that the British are highly conservative in effecting reforms to their system and institutions is refuted by the fundamental constitutional reforms recently made in the UK. The first was the incorporation of the European Convention of Human Rights into domestic law by the enactment of the UK Human Rights Act 2001. This gives judges the authority, not to strike down laws, but to declare that the challenged legislation is incompatible with the Human Rights Act. An unthinkable phenomenon two decades ago. The next radical change is the abolition of the 1,400-year-old office of the Lord Chancellor. Angmendus, the first Lord Chancellor, took office in 605.
The anomalous status of the Lord Chancellor as head of the judiciary, Speaker of the House of Lords, and a member of the Cabinet was increasingly perceived as undermining the independence of the judiciary.
The Lord Chancellor8217;s department on its abolition will now be replaced by a new Department of Constitutional Affairs which will be headed by Lord Falconer, a close friend of Prime Minister Blair. The present Committee of the House of Lords, the apex judicial body for England and Wales, will be replaced by a US style Supreme Court. The appointment of judges will be made by an independent Judicial Appointments Commission. These changes which have been welcomed by human rights groups have also been criticised. The shadow leader of the Lords, Lord Strathclyde, described them as 8216;8216;trendy reforms cobbled together on the back of an envelope8217;8217;.
Hillary8217;s Memoirs
Hillary Clinton8217;s memoirs have had record sales, which is not at all surprising. Probably many who bought the book promptly looked up the index for Monica Lewensky to whom about twenty pages are devoted. Frankly so did I but after tracking down the entry 8216;saxophone8217; under Clinton, Bill. Clinton is a fairly average tenor saxophonist. He has a good tone but improvisation is not his forte. It was most interesting to know that President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic and Clinton had a mutual love of music. Havel gave Clinton a tenor saxophone on his first trip to Prague in 1994 when they visited a jazz club and insisted that Clinton play with the musicians and then accompanied him on the tambourine. Clinton8217;s renditions of 8216;8216;Summertime8217;8217; and 8216;8216;My Funny Valentine8217;8217; and other songs they played together were made into a CD that has earned cult status in Prague.
At the function hosted in Clinton8217;s honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan I presented him a CD I had made of my favourite jazz tunes. To his astonishment the Attorney General for India talked about jazz musicians we both admired particularly the great tenor saxophonist, Lester Young, nicknamed 8216;President8217; Prez.
It is a thousand pities that the US Embassy did not agree to Bill performing with our Delhi musicians whom I had lined up because that 8216;8216;would give a wrong impression about the US President8217;8217;. A historic musical opportunity was lost because of some dense minds. That would not have happened if Blackwill, a keen jazz fan, were the ambassador at that time.
