Lords challenge Grayling's control of Supreme Court appointment

Lord Phillips has tabled an amendment to the crime and courts bill, calling for the power to appoint the court’s chief executive to be transferred to the president of the Supreme Court, the Guardian reported yesterday.

The change would remove the power of Chris Grayling, the justice secretary and lord chancellor, over the appointment. 

The former president of the Supreme Court’s amendment is expected to be debated and taken to a vote later today. Lord Neuberger, the president of the Supreme Court, is said to have told ministers that he supports the move.

In a letter last week, Lady Jay, chair of the committee, told justice minister Lord McNally: “The [supreme] court’s independence, and the perception of its independence, requires that the chief executive owes her primary loyalty to the president of the court, rather than a minister.”

“The chief executive is best placed to determine the staffing requirements of the court, and... should as a matter of constitutional principle be accountable to the president and to parliament for such issues, and not a minister.”

Lord Pannick, who supports Lord Phillips’ amendment, said: “For the president of the Supreme Court to have the responsibility for appointing the chief executive would emphasise to all concerned that this is an independent institution.”

The Supreme Court’s chief executive, Jenny Rowe, has been praised for helping establish the new court after the move from the House of Lords in 2009 to the former Middlesex Guildhall in Parliament Square.