4 - The judiciary Flashcards
how is judicial independence maintained
The appointment process
Salaries set by private bodies
permanent job - cant get sacked
What does ultra vires mean
Everyone is subject to the law, if someone has actions declared to be ultra vires it means they have acted beyond the law eg, Johnsons proroguing of parliament
What is judicial review
A court will review the legality of a decision or action made by a public body
Unlike the us the courts CANNOT strike down a law
Arguments for the judiciary being too powerful
judges are unelected and are hard to remove
The HRA means judges can get involved in politics and clash with the government
Make decisions that can have huge impact ie assisted suicide
Judicial review can make government departments change their views
Arguments for the judiciary not be too powerful
Judges have to be impartial
Judges only interpret laws that parliament made or chose eg ECHR or the HRA
Judges are very experienced legal professionals, so can be better than politicians
The courts make judges stick to the law, and follows the rule of law
What is the appointment process for judges
Appointments based on merit and experience
politicians have no say
Since 2006 all appointments have been done by the judicial appointments commission (JAC)
Criticisms of the judicial appointment process
It’s composition mainly being white old rich people
Accused of being too privileged
Whats the % of women judges in the court of appeal 2021
25%
The % of black judges in any court 2021
8%
The % of non-barristers 2020
32% down from 37% in 2014
How many judges of the supreme court were students and oxford or cambridge in 2021
11/12
Arguments that a lack of diversity in judges are bad
Judges don’t represent britain
can make cases on cultures difficult
Little improvement in he last decade
reduces the publics trust in the judiciary
arguments that a lack of diversity in judges doesn’t matter
Chosen for their expertise
Not there to empathise but to understand the law
Diversity is growing lower down the hierarchy, so will work its way up
Would almost inevitably lead to the politicisation of the judiciary
When was the uk support created and by what act
Set up in 2009
created by the constitutional reform act 2005
What courts did the UKSC replace to be the highest court
The law Lords court
how many judges in the UKSC
12
What criteria must a UKSC candidate have
2 years in a senior judicial role or 15 years as a barrister of solicitor
What is the compulsory retirement age
70
Main roles of the UKSC
The final court of appeal for all UK civil cases
Hears appeals on points of law from the public and of national importance
Enforces the ECHR’s
Acts as the final court of appeal for british overseas territories such as jamaica
Example of the UKSC ruling something doesn’t align with the ECHR
The rwanda deal 2022
Example of the UKSC sending cases back to the ECHR
The 2009 horncastle case - When the ECHR said that someone convicted by another person giving hearsay evidence wasn’t a fair trial
What did the UKSC have to keep in mind before brexit
EU laws when hearing cases involving international treaties
Whats the lord chancellors role in the appointment process
Says yes or no to candidates, cannot put candidates forward
How are candidates put forward
A selection committee is made up from the president and deputy president of the court and JAC members from each uk nation
They consult with senior judges before putting a name forward
Under the HRA what must government bills include
Must say if it is HRA compatible or not
Example of the UK government ignoring the ECHR
in 2005 the court ruled that Not giving prisoners a vote with incompatible with the ECHR, but parliament did not change the law
Example of the UKSC almost stopping government policy
2015 the court ruled 3-2 in the government favour to uphold a benefits cap introduced for housing benefit, children benefits and family’s out of work
