John David Phillips
Phillips is not alone in his criticism of government. He received support in 2006 when retiring judge William Ormiston agreed with Phillips’ comments. Chief Justice Marilyn Warren responded to the criticism by saying that "bureaucrats did not tell her what to do". Warren noted that whilst there were disagreements between her and the government from time to time, the judges run the courts, not public servants. Warren said
"The court, as part of our structure of government, is independent. As part of Victoria's constitutional arrangements, the Supreme Court is the third arm of government."
Politics of the Netherlands
It is important to realise that the Netherlands does not have a traditional separation of powers: according to the Constitution the States General and the government (the King and the Ministers) share the legislative power. All legislation has to pass through the Council of State (Dutch: "Raad van State") for advice and the Social-Economic Council advises the government on most social-economic legislation. The executive power is reserved for government. Note however that the Social Economic Council has the special right to make and enforce legislation on several sectors, mostly in agriculture. The judicial power is divided into two separate systems of courts. For civil and criminal law the independent Supreme Court is the highest court. For administrative law the "Raad van State" is the highest court, which is "ex officio" chaired by the King.