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Judiciary Flashcards

1
Q

What did the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 do?

A

Turned the fusion of powers into the judiciary being separate from the legislature and the executive.

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2
Q

Who used to be chief justice?

A

Lord Chancellor

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3
Q

What was the issue with having the Lord Chancellor as chief justice?

A

Was a member of all three branches of government

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4
Q

Who was the first woman to serve as President of the Supreme Court?

A

Brenda Hale

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5
Q

What was the court ruling in September 2019?

A

The prime minister had acted unlawfully in proroguing parliament.

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6
Q

What is the judiciary?

A

All those directly involved in the administration and application of justice

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7
Q

What was the highest court of appeal?

A

Law Lords and the Appellate Committee of the House of Laws

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8
Q

What is the highest court of appeal now?

A

Supreme Court and the 12 justices on the bench

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9
Q

What three systems play a part in the UK Supreme Court?

A

High Court Justiciary and Court of Session in Scotland, the Court of Judicature in Northern Ireland and the Court of Appeal in England and Wales.

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10
Q

What is the court below the Supreme Court?

A

Court of Appeals - split into criminal and civil divisions

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11
Q

What is the senior judiciary?

A

Comprises of justices in the Supreme Court, head of divisions, Lord Justices of Appeal, High court Judges and deputy High Court judges.

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12
Q

What do senior judges do?

A

Use their power of judicial review to clarify or establish a legal position where statute law is unclear or absent.

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13
Q

What is common law?

A

Formed of legal precedents thats serves as a guide to both lower courts and future lawmakers

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14
Q

What was the old appointment process?

A

Secret soundings - close associates to the Lord Chancellor - only drawn from a small social circle

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15
Q

What did the CRA do to the appointmnets process?

A

Reduced the power of the Lord Chancellor

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16
Q

Who is now in charge of the appointment process?

A

Judicial Appointments Commission

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17
Q

What are the requirements for becoming a Supreme Court justice?

A

Either hold high judicial office for at least 2 years or have 15 years as a qualified practicioner

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18
Q

How many members are on the selection committee?

A

5

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19
Q

What does the Lord Chancellor have the right to?

A

Veto a decision - means the commission has to reconsider its selection

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20
Q

What are the benefits of the new system?

A

Meritocracy rather than cronyism, scrutiny and a thorough process

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21
Q

What are the drawbacks of the new system?

A

Complicated and the Lord Chancellor can still veto an appointment.

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22
Q

What is the rule of law?

A

No one is above the law

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23
Q

What is the role of judges?

A

Interpreting statutes and dispensing justice

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24
Q

What does the separation of powers help do?

A

Protect freedom and ensure no party of the government is too powerful

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25
Can judges overturn statutes?
No - parliament is sovereign
26
What law used to take precedent?
EU law - 1991 High Court ruled that UK law had to be set aside - ditched after Brexit
27
What has meant that the role of the judiciary has grown?
HRA and CRA
28
What is judicial independence?
Members of the judiciary should be separate and independent from government.
29
What does security of tenure mean?
Judges cannot be removed or disciplined by the government - only on misconduct
30
What does judges having high salaries mean?
Prevent corruption - not voted on by parliament - Consolidated fund
31
What is contempt of court?
Illegal for any MP or Peer to interfere with the result of a court case
32
What else is covered under contempt of court?
Media and politicians cannot comment on an ongoing case
33
What is convention that politicians do not do?
Criticise court rulings
34
What is the importance of judges legal training in upholding judicial independence?
They have proved themselves as neutral, fair and judging cases on legal principles - appointed on track record not on politics
35
What can some judicial decisions have?
Political consequences - sometimes controversial
36
Who has overall control of the legal system?
Justice Ministry and the government
37
What has become an increasing tendency?
Politicians to have an open discussion on sentences and protection of rights - indirect pressure on the judiciary
38
What is evidence of judges trying to maintain independence?
Activism - proper application of law
39
What is judicial neutrality?
Judiciary should avoid allowing their personal opinions to affect their decisions in cases
40
What should judges not show?
Systematic bias towards or against any groups in society
41
What are judges not allowed to do?
Be members of political parties
42
What does a narrow pool of recruitment mean?
Judges don't represent society - all have the same views
43
How have judges been perceived as liberal?
Criticisms of government decisions when they undermine the liberties of citizens
44
Who lost a series of cases in 1990 against prisoners?
Michael Howard
45
What proportion of magistrates are women?
50%
46
What is judicial review?
Someone challenges the government on the basis that they have exceeded their powers
47
What does ultra vires mean?
Beyond its power
48
What has happened to the number of judicial review cases?
Increased dramatically
49
How many times was Howard overruled between 1992-6?
10 times
50
What was declared unlawful in 2010?
Interim cap on migration - not been brought before parliament for discussion
51
What did the Supreme court argue in 2010?
Government did not have the legal power to freeze the assets of suspected terrorists
52
What did the Court of Appeal argue?
Hunt did not have the power to order the closure of Lewisham A&E - breached NHS Act 2006
53
How can Judges make their decisions?
Only rule that the body has exceeded the powers given to it in law or that the law has been applied unfairly
54
What was passed in 2000?
Freedom of Information Act
55
What did the FIA do?
Gave citizens the right to see all public documents
56
What is the limitation to the FIA?
Government can withhold information if it felt that the publication would cause damage to public interest
57
What can judges be asked to do?
Chair public enquiries
58
What was the 2003 Hutton Inquiry?
Circumstances around the death of the weapons inspector David Kelly
59
What was the Gibson Inquiry?
2010 - British intelligence services thought to be involved with US forces in the torture of terrorist suspects.
60
What was the inquiry into the phone hacking?
2011 Leveson Inquiry
61
When was the Grenfell Inquiry?
2017
62
What must the law be under the rule of law?
Knowable and accessible
63
Where do features of the rule of law feature?
Bill of Rights 1689
64
What strand of the rule of law did Belmarsh undermine?
No one can be punished without trial
65
What does parliamentary privilege undermine
No one is above - also Prince Andrew and Partygate and Cummings
66
What does parliamentary sovereignty undermine?
That general principles of the constitution derive from judges decisions
67
What is the average age of the supreme court in 2021?
65
68
Has there ever been a BAME supreme court justice?
No
69
How many male justices have there been?
27
70
How many female justices are there?
Only ever been 4
71
When was the Reilly v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions case?
2013
72
What was the 2013 case a dispute over?
Lawfulness of "welfare to work"
73
What was the result of the 2016
The government had acted ultra vires
74
What was the HM Treasury vs Ahmed case?
2010 - freeze assets of people who have been associated with Al Quaida - claimant successful
75
Another example of JR?
Miller case in 2017
76
What proportion of cases find against the public body?
36%
77
What is a delcaration of incompatibility?
Allowed by the HRA - non binding - a law doesn't work with the HRA
78
What case put EU law as precedent?
Factortame
79
What treaty brought UK judges into conflict with both parliament and the executive?
Maastricht Treaty
80
Example of a HRA case
Naomi Campbell - right to privacy vs freedom of speech/ of the press

UK Government and Politics (10 decks)

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