JUDICIAL POWER: THE IMMUTABLE CORE OF WESTMINSTER-MODEL CONSTITUTIONALISM

Abstract

This dissertation enquires into the nature of judicial power and its position within a typical constitutional system on the ‘Westminster model’ of constitutionalism. It articulates a concept of judicial power that explains its interactions with other types of governmental power, and how these interactions emphasize the role of judicial power in sustaining constitutionalism and the rule of law. This thesis argues that in Westminster-model constitutionalism, there is an immutable core of judicial power that must remain vested exclusively in the judiciary established by the constitution. Therefore, in constitutional systems within this tradition, the immutable core of judicial power cannot be removed, reduced, or subordinated entirely to another branch of government without destroying the fundamental nature of that system and its commitment to the rule of law. Such radical change requires a correspondingly high degree of legitimacy which the ordinary constitutional amendment procedure in typical Westminster-model jurisdictions does not achieve.