Sex Offenders Register

Lord Mayhew of Twysden Excerpts

Wednesday 16th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

The Government regard what they are doing as bringing them into compliance with their obligations under the Human Rights Act. Therefore we do not envisage that the work of the Commission—and of course the terms of reference have yet to be agreed—would be affected by what we are doing here.

The Government have put in place a review process. Sex offences are extremely difficult to make judgments about and we believe that those who are involved in their rehabilitation, NOMS and the police, who will have had the obligation to supervise their conduct in the interim, are better placed to do that than the courts. That is why we have instituted the review of the process that we have put in place. I also rely on London tap water—I find it keeps me entirely sane.

[Lord Mayhew of Twysden]

My Lords, I ask my noble friend to come back once again to the last sentence of this Statement and its rather combative tone, where it says that it is time to assert that it is Parliament that makes our laws, not the courts. Will she accept from me that I know of no case whatever in which a court has questioned, let alone rejected, that statement of constitutional functions; and that the court’s function is to apply laws, either made by Parliament or specifically adopted by it?

[Baroness Neville-Jones]

Indeed, and we are saying that it is the correct moment to reassert the constitutional principle.