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No Justice
Today saw the end of an era as judges in England and Wales stopped wearing the robes and wigs which have symbolised British justice for centuries.
From today, judges have been instructed to wear “the new civil gown without a wig (or bands, wing collar or collarette)”. Circuit judges are instructed to retain “their existing gown and lilac tippet”, but wigs, bands and wing collars are similarly forbidden, as they are for barristers and solicitors sitting in a judicial capacity."
The new robes are made of a blend of dark navy gabardine and wool, trimmed with velvet.
A new system of coloured collars denotes status and role, and doubtless caused some scenes worthy of that in Reservoir Dogs when the crooks were given code names: The Court of Appeal has gold, district judges blue, High Court judges red and pink for the High Court Masters Group. Wigs will still be worn in criminal court, but this tradition is rumoured to be a target for reform before long.
The robes, created by fashion designer Betty Jackson and unveiled earlier this year, remind us of another film though. Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (Britain's most senior judge) was the model in May when Ms Jackson presented the costumes for the first time.
The Lord Chief Justice looks like he should be on the decks of the Death Star in Star Wars rather than in Britain's highest courts. We're not sure if he looks like Darth Vader without the helmet or Vader's evil sidekick the Grand Moff Tarkin.
The senior judge claims that judges must be seen to move with the times. The traditional robes have been described as "outdated and out of touch." Ms Jackson has pointed to the practicality of the garments: They are opened with poppers and have pockets, unlike the ancient robes of justice outlawed today.
You might remember that Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers was the first senior figure to strongly support the Archbishop of Canterbury's call for Muslims to live under Sharia Law in Britain, so he is no stranger to the Dark Side. He complained shortly after his appointment that he was sick of having to change into four or five different costumes, depending on the court he was sitting in.
More seriously, though, this is more than a question of fashion or utility. The style of the robes dates back to the 14th century; the tradition of wearing wigs (still made in London by Ede and Ravenscroft) dates from the 1680s. It's more than fancy dress. They represent the grandeur of the law and the persistence of its traditions . Here's Philip Johnston in the Telegraph:
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"Much of our law is founded upon precedent and convention and you feel that its practitioners should reflect that."
Change the robes of Britain's judges and you call an end to more than a centuries-old dress tradition: You create a new one, and dismiss the old. New Labour and its cronies are inventing a new set of symbols for their new tradition, a tradition which, Year Zero-like, dates back no more than ten years. Nothing which went before matters, whether ceremony, symbolism, precedent or law. Only the new, the modern and the reformed matters.
New Labour is determined to leave a country radically different from the one it took power in eleven years ago: Unrecognisable in almost every respect.
EURSOC's question: Will this period be thought of as future generations as an aberration, an interregnum, or has this period been a radical - and permanent - break in our history?
And if so - can we have a Restoration Party please?
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