Origins and functions of the supreme court

Question 1

Define judiciary

Answer 1

General term for all UK judges and and all those involved in the the administration and application of justice

Question 2

What two constituent parts of the UK use a different legal system to England?

Answer 2

Scotland and NI

Question 3

What role does the Supreme Court play in the three respective UK legal systems?

Answer 3

• Highest court of appeal for England and Wales
• Court of sessions for Scotland
• Court of appeal for NI

Question 4

What three things did the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act do?

Answer 4

• Curbed the powers of the Lord Chancellor
• Paved the way for the creation of the Supreme Court
• Placed senior judicial appointments into the hands of an independent Judicial Appointments Commission

Question 5

What were two major hopes behind the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act?

Answer 5

• Enhance the separation of powers
• Create a senior judiciary that was more representative of the UK population

Question 6

When did the Supreme Court begin its work?

Answer 6

October 2009

Question 7

What was the highest court of appeal before the Supreme Court?

Answer 7

12 Law Lords who sat in the appellate committee of the house of lords

Question 8

What three issues was the Supreme Court created in response to?

Answer 8

• Concerns over an incomplete separation of powers due to the position of the lord chancellor and the position of the law lords as part of the legislature
• Criticism of the opaque system through which senior judges were appointed
• A failure to understand the judicial and legislative functions of the lords led to questions about what it is the law lords were supposed to do

Question 9

What two main duties does the Supreme Court have?

Answer 9

• To act as a final court of appeal in England, Wales and NI and hearing appeals from civil cases in Scotland
• Clarify the meaning of the law by ruling on cases where there is uncertainty

Question 10

Describe how the law lords functioned before the creation of the Supreme Court

Answer 10

• The 12 law lords were expected to be neutral crossbenchers but were also allowed to take place in the legislative process in the lords
• Cases that were deemed high enough would be brought in front of five of the law lords

Question 11

Explain how the lord chancellor was part of all three branches of government until the CRA

Answer 11

They were the speaker of the house of lords, a cabinet minister responsible for managing the legal system and the most senior member of the judiciary

Question 12

What were the three main jobs for the lord chancellor before the CRA?

Answer 12

• Advising the government on legal policy
• Deciding which of the law lords would hear each appeal case
• Appointing senior judges, although the PM had the final say if they felt so inclined

Question 13

Who replaced the lord chancellor as the head of the UK judiciary under the CRA?

Answer 13

The Lord Chief Justice, a non-political figure and senior judge

Question 14

What has happened to the position of lord chancellor?

Answer 14

It was combined with the cabinet position of justice secretary and is no longer part of the judiciary

Question 15

Who is the Supreme Court composed of?

Answer 15

12 senior judges known as Justices of the Supreme Court

Question 16

What is the name for the head of the Supreme Court?

Answer 16

President of the Supreme Court

Question 17

What happens when there is a Supreme Court vacancy?

Answer 17

A special Selection Committee consisting of senior law officers from the UK will recommend a candidate to the lord chancellor

Question 18

What principle did the CRA reaffirm?

Answer 18

That a Supreme Court Justice can only be removed by a vote in both houses of parliament and only for misconduct, not as a result of a political decision. Their salary is also guaranteed; meaning that they have security of salary and tenure

Question 19

What did the CRA codify in law?

Answer 19

The independence of the judiciary

Question 20

What is the lord chancellor now responsible for following the 2005 CRA?

Answer 20

Maintaining the independence of the Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary from political or public pressure

Question 21

Who traditionally made appointments to the senior judiciary?

Answer 21

The monarch, on the advice of the PM and the lord chancellor. Here the lord chancellor would meet with existing senior judges in secret soundings

Question 22

Who comprises the senior judiciary?

Answer 22

Justices of the Supreme Court, heads of divisions, high court judges and deputy high court judges

Question 23

What are secret soundings?

Answer 23

The informal, secretive way senior judges used to be appointed. Describes the way the lord chancellor consulted associates who were already part of the senior judiciary in secret.

Question 24

What was the main issue with secret soundings?

Answer 24

The lack of transparency in the appointments process led to accusations of elitism

Question 25

Describe the social circle that members of the senior judiciary would be drawn from at the time of the CRA

Answer 25

Public school and Oxbridge educated, white, male and beyond middle age

Question 26

What happened to the founding justices of the new Supreme Court in 2009?

Answer 26

They were the 12 existing law lords. They were allowed to remain peers but were not allowed to debate or vote in the upper house as long as they remained justices of the supreme court

Question 27

What qualifications must you have to become a justice of the Supreme Court?

Answer 27

You must have either held high judicial office for two years or been a qualifying practitioner for 15 years

Question 28

What is a qualifying practitioner?

Answer 28

Someone who has a Supreme Courts qualification

Question 29

What makes filling Supreme Court vacancies unique?

Answer 29

They are filled by an ad hoc selection comission, whereas other senior judicial appointments are decided by the JAC

Question 30

What does JAC stand for?

Answer 30

Judicial Appointments Commission

Question 31

How has the input of the lord chancellor been reduced in the hiring of Supreme Court Justices?

Answer 31

Because they are not allowed to repeatedly reject names put forward by the selection commission

Question 32

What have Supreme Court appointments failed to disspell?

Answer 32

Accusations of elitism

Question 33

When was the constitutional reform act passed?

Answer 33

2005

Question 34

What were the lords free to do and why was this a problem?

Answer 34

Engage in the legislative activities in the lords. This was problematic as it meant that there was partial fusion between the judiciary and the legislature

Question 35

What does the Supreme Court do instead of rule on cases of guilt or innocence?

Answer 35

They make sure the law is being equally followed and properly applied by all, including the government. Acting as an appellate court, it will only hear cases that have already been heard in lower courts; they will only take on cases they see as being important enough

Question 36

List the reasons that the Supreme Court may allow a case to be brought before it

Answer 36

• It may be a judicial review concerning an important public body; with the court needing to establish what legal powers this body has
• The case may create an important precedent that has to be followed by future citizens and bodies
• When the lower courts have been unable to make a judgement on the law or two lower courts have different interpretations. Here, it is the job of the Supreme Court to decide what parliament’s intention was when they passed the law
• It may be a case that has attracted a great deal of public interest
• A key human rights issue may be at stake

Question 37

What is judicial review?

Answer 37

The power of the judiciary to review, and sometimes reverse actions of the other branches of government that breach the law or are incompatible with the HRA