Lord Steyn on Democracy, the Rule of Law and the Role of Judges:

[Lord Steyn] said ministers did not always understand the principle of the separation of powers as it affected the judiciary. The home secretary, Charles Clarke, had complained in a recent interview that he was “frustrated” that the law lords would not meet him for discussions “because of their sense of propriety”.

Mr Clarke “apparently fails to understand that the law lords and cabinet ministers are not on the same side,” said Lord Steyn. “A cosy relationship between ministers and law lords would be a worrying development.”

And apparently the Singaporean judiciary fails to understand their role as an independent, unbiased, public-serving body whose role is to protect the constitutional rights of Singaporeans and promoting the causes of democracy.

The judiciary is not supposed to be the government’s personal adjudicator.