Evaluate the view that the Supreme Court is both neutral and independent

Question 1

What would be the three areas of contention

Answer 1

1. Judges follow the principle of the ‘Rule of Law’ (Neutral)
2. Judicial Review (Independence)
3. HRA - DOI + Judicial Interpretation (Independence)

Question 2

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Agree) what does the rule of Law do

Answer 2

the rule of law makes the judges apply impartiality when judging

Question 3

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Agree) what was the R v Mullen extradition case

Answer 3

in R v Mullen the appellant argued that he had been forcibly Brough to the UK instead of being extradited according to the law

Question 4

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Agree) what was the court response to the R v Mullen case

provide an analysis

Answer 4

the courts declared that in order to uphold the rule of law that whatever crime the appellant was accused of must be quashed

this confirms the courts neutrality as it demonstrated that whatever crime the appellant was accused of does not justify the state acting outside the law

Question 5

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Agree) explore the R v Attorney Gen FOI case

also provide an analysis

Answer 5

in the R v Attorney gen case the judges argued that while the FOI gives ministers a veto that can overturn the information commissioner, the decision of a judicial body should be “final and binding”

this therefore exhibits the maintenance of neutrality within the SC as it did not uphold the veto of the attorney general when misuse

Question 6

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Disagree) explore what was reported in the Lammy report

provide an analysis

Answer 6

the Lammy Report reported that there was a structural bias in the judicial process that disadvantages black boys in comparison to their white counterparts

this is due to a representation deficit, this is as the courts are predominantly white and are therefore at an overwhelming cultural odd with understanding the socio-economic disadvantages of the black community

Question 7

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Disagree) what were the findings of the Sutton Trust

also provide an analysis

Answer 7

the Sutton trust found that 65% of the most senior judges in the UK went to public schools while only 7% of the public were privately educated

an inductive conclusion may be asserted in which the judges may have more of a conservative leaning due to their socio-economic background therefore making them out of touch with the issues of the ordinary person due to them belonging to a higher social strata

Question 8

1. Judges follow principle of Rule of Law (Neutral/Disagree) explore the Shamema Begum case and why the SC may have upholder the decision of the Home Secretary

Answer 8

the SC supported the Home Secretary in the removal of her citizenship after having been arguably manipulated by IS

one may infer the existence of internal structural bias

Question 9

2. Judicial Review (Independence/agree) what did the constitutional reform act of 2005 do and provide an analysis

Answer 9

the constitutional reform act has given judges clear independence due to their removal from the House of Lords and therefore limits influence and persuasion - optics

it is evident that the SC have been given clear independence as judges are more likely to make decisions against the government and are more likely to be bold as they are separated from the executive and legislative

Question 10

2. Judicial Review (Independence/agree) how was independence exemplified in the 2017 SC ruling of BJ

Answer 10

Independence exemplified in the 2017 SC ruling in the Gina Miller case in which the verdict was that the proroguing of parliament was unlawful

Question 11

2. Judicial Review (Independence/Disagree) what is the Criminal Justice and Courts Act

Answer 11

in this act, the govt placed new legal limits on the ability of individuals to challenge public decisions in court

Question 12

2. Judicial Review (Independence/Disagree) what is the meaning of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act and how does this undermine independence

Answer 12

it requires the high court to refuse to hear judicial review requests if it appears that the outcome for the appellant would not have been largely different if the actions of complain were not taken

this severely undermines independence of the SC as they will no longer have the ability to enact powers of Judicial Review therefore essentially suppressing the powers of the court

Question 13

3. HRA - DOI + Judicial Interp (Independence/agree) how many DOI have there been and provide an analysis

Answer 13

there have been 27 DOI since the formation of the SC

this therefore shows constraints in the usage of this judicial power as the SC doesn’t want to be labelled as “Judicial Activists”

Question 14

3. HRA - DOI + Judicial Interp (Independence/agree) explore how the relationship between the HRA right to family and the SC

Answer 14

the HRA allows the SC to evaluate, through judicial interpretation, what the understanding of the right to family consists of in the HRA

Question 15

3. HRA - DOI + Judicial Interp (Independence/agree) explain how the right to family and judicial interpretation has led to government anger and provide an analysis

Answer 15

this has led to government anger as they argue that the liberal interpretation of the HRA has protected criminals from deportation

this therefore details the maintenance of Judicial Interpretation as the SC are not constrained by the wishes or desired will of the government

Question 16

3. HRA - DOI + Judicial Interp (Independence/Disagree) explain what the govt have done to secondary legislation in relation to the DOI and provide an analysis

Answer 16

the government have now removed DOI’s for secondary legislation

this therefore places constraints on the SC freedom to critique and affect government legislation

Question 17

3. HRA - DOI + Judicial Interp (Independence/Disagree) explain the wishes of Dominic Raab in relation to the HRA and provide an analysis

Answer 17

Dominic Raab wishes to removed the HRA with a British Bill of Rights in order to make more concise legislation and clauses in relation to human rights

this therefore limits the capacity at which the SC can exert independence through judicial interpretation and therefore undermines authoritative independence and impacts the SC judicial judgements