4.1 the supreme court and the legislative and policy-making process Flashcards
What are the three branches of government?
- executive
- legislature
- judiciary
What does the executive do?
takes and implements decisions on policy
What does the legislature do?
makes laws
What does the judiciary do?
judges interpret the law through rulings made in court cases
When did the Supreme Court open?
1 October 2009
What act established the Supreme Court?
Constitutional Reform Act of 2005
What was the supreme court designed to do?
end the fusion of powers at the highest level of the UK judiciary
How many members are there in the supreme court?
12
Who is the president of the Supreme Court?
Lord Robert Reed
Who are nominations for the Supreme Court made by?
Independent five-member Selection Commission
Who is in the Independent five-member Selection Commission for the Supreme Court?
- president of the Court
- deputy president of the Court
- member of the Judicial Appointments Commission
- member of each of the equivalent bodies for Scotland and Northern Ireland
What are the two key principles that the judicial system in the UK rests on?
- judicial neutrality
- judicial independence
What is judicial neutrality?
- the expectation that judges will exercise their functions without personal bias
What are conflicts of interest?
judges must refuse to sit in a case that involves a family member, friend, professional associate, which might give rise to doubt about the justices detachment
What are public activities?
- judges may write and give lectures as part of their function of educating the public, and they may involve themselves in charitable and voluntary activities
- but they must avoid political activity
- a judge may serve on an official body such as a government commission provided that it does not compromise their political neutrality
Why is there long-standing anxiety about the senior judiciary?
contains a disproportionate number of white, privately educated males
What was the Radmacher v Granatino (2010) case?
- involved a pre-nuptial agreement between marriage partners
- majority of the justices upheld the principle that claims made in the event of a divorce should be limited
- Lade Hale was the only one to dissent
What is judicial independence?
the principle that judges must be free from political interference
What is the only way that judges may be removed from office?
if they break the law
What are the three built in guarantees of independence (Supreme Court)?
- terms of employment
- pay
- appointment
How are judges paid?
- paid automatically from an independent budget (Consolidated Fund)
What is a declaration of incompatibility?
Supreme Court can issue one if it believes an existing piece of UK legislation is going against the HRA
What is judicial review?
the power of the judiciary to review actions by other branches of government that breach the law or are incompatible with the HRA
What is ultra vires?
‘beyond the powers’
- an action is taken without legal authority
