Freemasons shake off ruling on judiciary
2009 11 28
By Helen Pidd | guardian.co.uk
Prospective judges will no longer have to declare if they are Freemasons, the government has announced .
For the past 11 years, anyone applying to be a judge or a magistrate for the first time had to declare on an application form whether they belong to the Freemasonry.
But Jack Straw, the justice secretary, said that as a review had shown no evidence of impropriety or malpractice as a result of a judge being a Freemason it would be "disproportionate" to continue with the practice, introduced in 1998.
There were "existing safeguards that help support the proper performance of judicial functions", including the judicial oath and an official complaints procedure, Straw said.
The United Grand Lodge of England made representations to ministers in May and indicated it may seek judicial review of the policy. This followed two cases at the European court of human rights where Italian Freemasons successfully argued it was discriminatory to be asked to declare membership of a non-secret society.
The Ministry of Justice said all levels of the judiciary were affected by the decision, but not coroners, who are appointed by local authorities.
Chris Connop, the United Grand Lodge's information officer and a magistrate for 17 years, said: "We are delighted at the decision. We have been feeling very miffed about this for a very long time.
"Even when the rule was introduced in 1998 after a report by the home affairs select committee, we were told there was no evidence of any impropriety on the part of judges who were members, but merely that there was a perception that it could be a problem, which is ridiculous."
Connop said he hoped the Home Office would now change the rules which currently require potential police officers and anyone working for the probation or prison service to declare whether they are Freemasons.
The Freemasonry is "blatantly" not a secret society, said Connop, adding that members were forbidden to use Freemasonry for financial gain.
"We never objected to declaration, but we objected to being singled out. Where do you think most business deals take place? On the golf course. So shouldn't people have to declare which golf course they are members of?" he added.
There are more than 330,000 Freemasons in England and Wales, and an estimated 6 million in the world.
Source: guardian.co.uk
Related Articles
An Example of How The Freemasons Control the Court (And Thus the Legal System)
U.K. Government Inquiry into Freemasonry and the Judicial System
The Police, Freemasonry, and the Judicial System in the U.K.
Freemasonry & Secret Societies
Latest News from our Front Page
Valley of Death: The Siberian taiga
2010 02 09
Journeying across the Siberian taiga in search of the strange 'cauldrons' said to have been left by alien visitors - or ancient demons. These mysterious structures - the locals also refer to them as olguis, or upturned 'cauldrons' - are said to be forged out of an unknown metal, copper-like in colour, incredibly hard and with razor-sharp edges. |
Japanese find body on plane from US
2010 02 09
A body was found in the landing gear bay of an airplane that arrived at Tokyo's Narita Airport Sunday, the airport announced. Police said he possibly froze to death and suffered a shortage of oxygen at high altitude, but did not provide a definite cause of death pending an autopsy. |
'Thought reading' brings hope for vegetative state patients
2010 02 09
Doctors have managed to read the thoughts of a car crash victim diagnosed to be in a vegetative condition, using brain scanning techniques that could mark a breakthrough for thousands of patients.
A 22-year-old man who had been considered to be in a vegetative state since an automobile accident five years ago managed to answer "yes" and "no" to a ... |
Modern shamans all the rage in South Korea
2010 02 08
When I told my friends I would visit a Korean shaman, or mudang, their responses weren’t exactly reassuring. One Korean university student explained to me that evil spirits would hijack my body, prompting me to slit my wrists and drink my own blood until I became a minion of Satan. “Are you nuts? They’re evil!” another friend exclaimed.
I’m a skeptic, ... |
The government has your baby's DNA
2010 02 08
When Annie Brown's daughter, Isabel, was a month old, her pediatrician asked Brown and her husband to sit down because he had some bad news to tell them: Isabel carried a gene that put her at risk for cystic fibrosis. While grateful to have the information -- Isabel received further testing and she doesn't have the disease -- the Mankato, ... |
The Green Police - A Taste of What is to Come?
2010 02 08
This is the Audi 2010 Green Car Super Bowl Commercial. The Green Police is a taste of what is to come if the phony environmentalists get their way.
|
Chief Constable warns terror fight "will take decades"
2010 02 08
MI5 estimates there are about 2,000 Muslims living in the UK who pose a 'potential terrorist threat' - plus an unknown number who 'sympathise with extremist ideology'. "I think it's a generation of treatment to prevent the infection spreading and I think that will take us probably 20 years." |
» More News
|
|
|
