Component 2: Relations between Institutions

Question 1

Supreme Court

Answer 1

the highest court in the UK
political system.

Question 2

Judicial neutrality

Answer 2

the principle that judges
should not be influenced
by their personal political
opinions and should remain
outside of party politics.

Question 3

Judicial independence

Answer 3

the principle that judges
should not be influenced
by other branches of
government, particularly
the executive.

Question 4

Judicial review

Answer 4

the power of the judiciary
to review, and sometimes
reverse, actions by other
branches of government
that breach the law, or that
are incompatible with the
Human Rights Act.

Question 5

Ultra vires

Answer 5

literally ‘beyond the powers’
in Latin. An action that
is taken without legal
authority

Question 6

Elective dictatorship

Answer 6

a government that
dominates parliament,
usually due to a large
majority, and therefore has
few limits on its power.

Question 7

European Union (EU)

Answer 7

an association of 27 states
(not including, at present, the
UK), originally founded as
the European Economic
Community (EEC) in 1957,
which has evolved into
a political and economic
union.

Question 8

Four freedoms

Answer 8

the principle of free
movement of goods,
services, people and capital
within the EU’s single
market.

Question 9

Legal sovereignty

Answer 9

the right to ultimate legal
authority in a political
system; in the UK, this
belongs to parliament.

Question 10

Political sovereignty

Answer 10

the ultimate political
power; in the UK’s
democracy, the electorate
holds this power, which it
delegates to parliament.