Influence of the Supreme Court Flashcards
what does the Supreme Court influence?
The Supreme Court has influence on the executive and Parliament
what is one of the most important roles of the Supreme Court?
One of the most important roles of the Supreme Court is to interpret the 1998 Human Rights Act
if it believes that an existing piece of UK legislation is in conflict with the ECHR, it can make a ‘declaration of incompatibility’
what is Parliament expected to do in response to a declaration of incompatibility? but what limits the power of the Supreme Court?
there is an expectation that Parliament will modify the law in response to a declaration of incompatibility in order to bring the legislation into line with the ECHR
but the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty means that Parliament are not obliged to modify the law, they can ignore the Supreme Court as the Supreme Court has no power to strike down laws like the Supreme Court in the USA can
there is also no codified constitution against which the Supreme Court could test/compare legislation, often making it unclear when the law needs to be modified
parliamentary sovereignty and the lack of a codified constitution limits the powers of the Supreme Court
what is the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review?
Rather than being able to knock down laws, the Supreme Court has the power of judicial review
this is 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
The Supreme Court can enquire whether ministers have followed the correct procedures when they have implemented legislation, examine the actions of public bodies to investigate whether they have acted ultra vires, etc
ultra vires literally means ‘beyond the powers’ — it usually refers to an action taken without legal authority and when a body has gone beyond the powers granted to them
examples of Supreme Court rulings
sometimes Supreme Court rulings work in favour of the government, other times they do not
examples of Supreme Court rulings that have challenged the government…
• April 2010 — The right of sex offenders to appeal against registration for life
• July 2011 — Al Raui case
• January 2017 — Gina Miller case
examples of Supreme Court rulings that have worked in favour of the government…
• June 2010 — The case of Private Jason Smith
• January 2014 — HS2 rail link
examples of Supreme Court rulings: APRIL 2010
sex offenders
April 2010 — The right of sex offenders to appeal against registration for life
The government position was that people who had committed serious sexual offences in England and Wales must register with the police for life as sex offenders after being released from prison
however the Supreme Court ruled that this breached their human rights, they should have the right to appeal against registration 15 years after leaving prison
this infuriated the government and police who argued that dangerous individuals do not change their behaviour and this was a particularly sensitive issue due to public concern over the safety of children
this is an example of a Supreme Court ruling that challenged the government
examples of Supreme Court rulings: JUNE 2010
Private Jason Smith
June 2010 — the case of Private Jason Smith
Jason Smith was a UK serviceman who died of heat stroke in Iraq in 2003, his family argued that the authorities should have safeguarded him
The High Court ruled in their favour but when the case was appealed to the Supreme Court, it was overruled by majority of 6 to 3
The Supreme Court ruled that the jurisdiction of the HRA did not extend to troops in combat situations
examples of Supreme Court rulings: JANUARY 2014
HS2 rail link
January 2014 — HS2 rail link
campaigners against the government planned London to Birmingham high-speed rail link requested a judicial review to investigate whether the project complied with EU environmental directives
The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal on the grounds that Parliament had not yet reached a final decision on the scheme and so its merits remained open to debate
examples of Supreme Court rulings: JULY 2011
Al Raui case
July 2011 — Al Raui case
brought by former inmates of the US prison at one Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, they claimed that the UK Security services had contributed to their detention and mistreatment
security chiefs and the government argued that in the interests of national security, they must be allowed to give evidence in secret
The Supreme Court rejected this argument on the grounds that it breached one of the principles of a fair trial, each side must be able to see the evidence put before the judge
this is another example of the Supreme Court challenging the government
examples of Supreme Court rulings: JANUARY 2017
Gina Miller
January 2017 — Gina Miller case
this was the most important constitutional case to come before the Supreme Court, it was brought forward by Gina Miller
it concerns whether the government needed the authority of Parliament to trigger the process of leaving the EU following the referendum in 2016
Miller argued that the Prime Minister could not trigger Article 50 to leave the EU simply by using prerogative powers
The Supreme Court ruled in Miller’s favour on the grounds that EU membership had introduced statutory rights for UK citizens that only Parliament could remove
Brexit supporters were outraged, claiming that the justices had set themselves against the democratic will of the people
However, the Supreme Court did not oppose the decision to leave the EU, they merely reasserted the constitutional principles governing how Brexit should be carried out
