The judiciary serves the public. It does not exist to protect itself from scrutiny.
Put yourself in the position of a pensioner trying to protect her home: studying court rules, preparing evidence, answering lawyers and finding the strength to challenge decisions—without the means to fund representation at every stage. The consequences are not confined to a courtroom. They reach into a person’s safety, savings, health and daily life.
Miss E and Mr J say this is the burden they have faced. They allege that serious concerns were discredited and material questions left unanswered, and they challenge the decisions through the published appeal record. We stand beside them in demanding that the documents, reasoning and exercise of power be examined.
A right that becomes unaffordable to defend risks becoming a privilege of wealth. A person should not have to exhaust a lifetime’s savings to obtain a reasoned answer about a liability imposed on them or a risk to their home.
Judicial independence protects fair decision-making. It must be accompanied by integrity, intelligible reasons and meaningful accountability. When those safeguards fail, everyone’s protection is weakened. Law on paper is no substitute for justice people can actually reach.
That is why this record concerns you. Supporting Miss E’s call for answers means standing for a standard you may one day need yourself.
The public principle behind this work
In R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, the Supreme Court explained why effective access to courts matters to the rule of law and society as a whole. The judiciary’s own account of accountability includes open justice, published decisions and public scrutiny.