Vol. 6 - Guardians of the Constitution
“Though justice be thy plea, consider this—
That in the course of justice none of us should see salvation.”
– William Shakespeare, Author of The Merchant of Venice
The Judiciary of Alexandria neither seeks power nor claims to speak for the people. It does not legislate, govern, or campaign. It interprets the law - and by doing so, protects the framework that allows the rest of government to function at all.
Its duty is as narrow as it is essential. The courts determine whether an action falls even with the bounds of our infant law. When they act, they do so not to decide what is best, but what is lawful. That distinction is easy to forget, especially where other performers in our noble Crown win by populist appeal what they cannot by election.
It is in this way that the judiciary serves the highest electorate of all: the Constitution.
Some mistake judicial independence for supremacy. But the courts are not above the Constitution - they are bound to it. Judges cannot invent new rights or override the will of Parliament without clear authority in law. Their role is not to reshape the Kingdom, but to ensure that change subsists in the rules we have agreed upon.
This is not a flaw of the system. It is a strength. The courts move slowly, carefully, and without the pressures of party and petty politics. That restraint allows them to safeguard liberty, or to curtail it. For either, decided rightly, fulfills their profound and needed duty.
The place of the people and policy is Parliament. The place of justice is the judiciary. It is Parliament that gives voice to the people. The Judiciary may strike down a law when it violates the Constitution, but it cannot replace the duty of the wise and lawful lawmaker.
Let us respect the Judiciary for what it is: not a rival to Parliament, nor a guardian of ideology, but a servant of tradition. It stands neither in front of the people nor the Constitution, but behind the law.
– Integritas