ABSTRACT
In order to evaluate the extent to which the separation of powers applies - and the many exceptions to the pure doctrine - it is necessary first to define the major institutions of the state and evaluate the relationship between them. The separation of powers doctrine does not insist that there should be three institutions of government each operating in isolation from each other. Housed in Middlesex Guildhall, opposite the Houses of Parliament, the Supreme Court represents an improved separation of powers between Parliament and the judiciary and complements the reformed office of Lord Chancellor. The concept of separation of powers offers the judiciary a device both for the protection of the independence of the judiciary and against allegations of judicial intrusion into matters more appropriate to Parliament or the executive. Accordingly, to deny the relevance of some form of separation of powers would be to misconstrue the evidence.
