Denning's Law

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'The law and right-wing politics are bedfellows' DENNING'S Law is often chided as eccentric, but it is not vastly different from the law as pronounced by 'normal' judges.

After all, two other Appeal Court judges agreed that the law forbade the GLC from offering a halfway decent alternative to the one-man, one-car chaos that passes for a transport system. Denning echoed some of our comrades in the Labour Party when he declared that "a manifesto issued by a political party to get votes was not to be regarded as a gospel" and that the GLC had given "undue weight" to their election promises by daring to carry them out.

But his pal, Lord Justice Oliver, agreed that transport facilities had by law to be "economic, not wasteful and cost-effective" • And Lord Justice Watkins pronounced it to be "a counsel of despair" to say that London Transport "could not be run at a profit"; and declared the fares cut an "abuse of power that totally disregarded the interests of rate payers"

Anyone can see that in this case the law and rightwing politics are intimate bed-fellows.

What's special about Denning is the overt and shameless way in which he subordinates the laws and his own fine-sounding principles to his political prejudices.

The man who declared that the courts stand "between the executive and the subject" to see that "discretionary power is not misused", , was less zealous about judicial checks on the executive when it came to the Home Secretary's powers to detain aliens under the Immigration laws.

Deter

Then he insisted that a Minister could "exercise his power for any purpose which he considers to be for the public good" and that "sending back illegal immigrants" would "help to deter others"

However, when it came to the question of a local authority attempting to introduce comprehensive education Denning once again eld the right of the courts to scrutinise in the minutest detail executive discretion.

He managed to interpret the duty of a local authority to "maintain" a school as meaning in this instance that the school has to retain "its fundamental character" and thus not be turned comprehensive!

Denning offers fine phrases to paint the law as guardian of individual freedom: The words ring out: •Where there is conflict between the freedom of the individual and other interests no matter how great or powerful, the freedom of the humblest citizen shall prevail over it."

Expulsion

Except perhaps if you happen to be a suspected illegal immigrant, in which case Denning pronounced that even the most elemental individual liberty-that of 'habeas corpus'-did not apply.

"If the immigration officer acts honestly and on reasonable grounds (in detaining. an alien), that is sufficient and the court will not further inquire into it."

In Mark Hosenball's case, similarly, Denning said that when there is a conflict between national security and individual liberty, then "the balance between the two is not for a court of law. It is for the Home Secretary"; and so approved Hosenball's expulsion.

However, there was no firmer defender of individual freedom than Denning when it came to the rights of Grunwick not to be pressured by a trade union or when it came to the liberty of the Home Office not to have its confidential documents on prison conditions-even when already read out in open courtpublished in the press. Individual freedom is a flexible phrase in Denning's vocabulary.

Prejudice

Denning's prejudice pours out in every judgement. For example, about immigrants he said: "If the men are allowed to remain, it will be difficult to refuse the wives and children. If this were allowed, the numbers of immigrants would be increased greatly that there would be room for everybody."

Enormous power

Denning is not a different breed of animal from his fellow judges. But as Master of the Rolls he has enorcivil cases, only a fraction of which are taken further to the House of Lords for final appeal. (Denning's court deals with an average of 800 cases a year of which about 50 are further appealed).

Alongside his great power lies a shameless cynicism toward any legal principle beyond his own conception of "justice" and a shameless disregard for even the limited democratic process which currently exists.

Whatever happens to the GLC appeal to the Lords, the ousting of Denning must become part of a movement to open up this unaccounPreserve of judicial privilege and power.

• Bob Fine

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