This week the Bagehot column in the Economist takes a look at the wild proliferation of judicial inquiries initiated in the United Kingdom, commenting that the calls for these activist judges to enter the realm of politics feeds off a deepening public distrust of their elected officials.  Bagehot writes, “a growing number of claimants now seek–and obtain–judicial reviews of decisions made by public bodies, with judges asked to ponder everything from terrorist control orders to planning decisions.“

As a lawyer working in a number of emerging markets featuring weak rule of law systems, this rise in the use of judicial inquiries as a policy instrument – and, at times, a weapon against opponents – is deeply troubling.