Empowerment and accountability: The quest for administrative justice

This text is a revised and annotated version of a lecture delivered by Sir Robin Cooke at the Fifth Judicial Colloquium on the Domestic Application of International Human Rights Norms at Balliol College, Oxford on 22 September 1992. In this lecture, Sir Robin assesses the extent to which the three branches of government are empowered and accountable to each other. He argues that the legislature is empowered by and therefore accountable to the judiciary. He explains that the scope of executive accountability turns on the suitability of the subject-matter of the decision for judicial review. He then cautions that the judiciary should be independent of executive influence. Sir Robin concludes by expressing guarded support for the appointment of judges by an independent judicial appointments commission.