Origins and functions of the supreme court Flashcards
Define judiciary
General term for all UK judges and and all those involved in the the administration and application of justice
What two constituent parts of the UK use a different legal system to England?
Scotland and NI
What role does the Supreme Court play in the three respective UK legal systems?
- Highest court of appeal for England and Wales
- Court of sessions for Scotland
- Court of appeal for NI
What three things did the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act do?
- 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
What were two major hopes behind the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act?
- Enhance the separation of powers
- Create a senior judiciary that was more representative of the UK population
When did the Supreme Court begin its work?
October 2009
What was the highest court of appeal before the Supreme Court?
12 Law Lords who sat in the appellate committee of the house of lords
What three issues was the Supreme Court created in response to?
- 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
What two main duties does the Supreme Court have?
- 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
Describe how the law lords functioned before the creation of the Supreme Court
- 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
Explain how the lord chancellor was part of all three branches of government until the CRA
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
What were the three main jobs for the lord chancellor before the CRA?
- 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
Who replaced the lord chancellor as the head of the UK judiciary under the CRA?
The Lord Chief Justice, a non-political figure and senior judge
What has happened to the position of lord chancellor?
It was combined with the cabinet position of justice secretary and is no longer part of the judiciary
Who is the Supreme Court composed of?
12 senior judges known as Justices of the Supreme Court
What is the name for the head of the Supreme Court?
President of the Supreme Court
What happens when there is a Supreme Court vacancy?
A special Selection Committee consisting of senior law officers from the UK will recommend a candidate to the lord chancellor
What principle did the CRA reaffirm?
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
What did the CRA codify in law?
The independence of the judiciary
What is the lord chancellor now responsible for following the 2005 CRA?
Maintaining the independence of the Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary from political or public pressure
Who traditionally made appointments to the senior judiciary?
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
Who comprises the senior judiciary?
Justices of the Supreme Court, heads of divisions, high court judges and deputy high court judges
What are secret soundings?
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.
What was the main issue with secret soundings?
The lack of transparency in the appointments process led to accusations of elitism
Describe the social circle that members of the senior judiciary would be drawn from at the time of the CRA
Public school and Oxbridge educated, white, male and beyond middle age
What happened to the founding justices of the new Supreme Court in 2009?
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
What qualifications must you have to become a justice of the Supreme Court?
You must have either held high judicial office for two years or been a qualifying practitioner for 15 years
What is a qualifying practitioner?
Someone who has a Supreme Courts qualification
What makes filling Supreme Court vacancies unique?
They are filled by an ad hoc selection comission, whereas other senior judicial appointments are decided by the JAC
What does JAC stand for?
Judicial Appointments Commission
How has the input of the lord chancellor been reduced in the hiring of Supreme Court Justices?
Because they are not allowed to repeatedly reject names put forward by the selection commission
What have Supreme Court appointments failed to disspell?
Accusations of elitism
When was the constitutional reform act passed?
2005
What were the lords free to do and why was this a problem?
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
What does the Supreme Court do instead of rule on cases of guilt or innocence?
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
List the reasons that the Supreme Court may allow a case to be brought before it
- 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
What is judicial review?
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
