Relations between branches

Question 1

Supreme court

Answer 1

UK’s highest court as was established by the blair government under the constitutional reform act 2005

Question 2

Judicial Neutrality

Answer 2

Judges are not biased, they do not let their personal or political opnions affect their judgements
They are not allowed to be members of political parties or support pressure group
They must not be biassed accoridng to gender age and social class

Question 3

Judidical independance

Answer 3

Judges are independant from the executive, parliament and the media when making their decisions.
This was upheld in the constitutional reform act 2005 that established the new supreme court in a seperate building

Question 4

Judicial review

Answer 4

Judges have the power to review decisions taken by government ministers, to decide whether or not they have been made legally and that a minister has not overstepped their powers

Question 5

Elective dictatorship

Answer 5

• Lord Hailsham said governments can get commons majorities with half of the vote (fptp) and pms have preogrative powers with very few checks, constitution is uncodified and there is a fusion of powers so too much executive power with too few checks

Question 6

The EU

Answer 6

EU was established after second world war in 1950s
An international organisation in which nation states pool their sovereignity
Has created largest single market and most member states have adopted eu currency

Question 7

What are the four freedoms?

Answer 7

Free movement of goods
Free movement of people
Free movement of capital
Free movement of services

Question 8

Legal sovereignity

Answer 8

Parliament has the right to make or unmake any law. No other body within the UK has the right to resist or oppose legislation
Lies within parliament

Question 9

Political sovereignity

Answer 9

This refers to where power actually lies with our fused and fptp system many have argued power lies between pm and the cabinet

Question 10

Ultra vires

Answer 10

acting beyond ones powers. Judges can judge an action of a minister of ultra vires and actions will be void

Question 11

Arguments for and against judicial independance

Answer 11

For:
* The constitutional reform act 2005 further promoted the independance of the senior judiciary - established the supreme court as a seperate institution
* The physical seperation from parliament is an important statement of political independance
* * When a case is being heard it is said to be ‘sub-judice’ meaning parliament cantexpress an opnioon as it would undermine the judicial independance

Against:
* The government retains some political influence over the appointments of justices of the supreme court
* The constitutional reform act 2005 merged the position of lord chancellor with that of justice secretary
* There is not complete seperation of powers as the selection commitee for new justices must past their reccommendations to the justice secretary

Question 12

Arguements for and against judicial neutrality

Answer 12

For:
* Judges in the UK are not permitted to be members of a political party (barrister or solictor can be a member and pursue political career)
* Judges salaries are not determined by parliament to ensure ni government could seek judicial influence through financial incentives
* * The constitutional reform act 2005 was also designed to make appointments to judiciary more transparent
* Since court cases are open to the public and judges are in the public domain any predijuice or bias shown by a judge would be publicised by the media
* The full proceedings of the supreme court can be photographed and live streamed for the public

Against:
* Members of the supreme court are generally from an elite background which has led to claims they tend to favour the establishment
E.g. in 1997 john griffin argued in the politics of the judiciary that socially and politically conservative judges always favour status quo
Critics of supreme courts ability to provide justice therefore argue that its membership is so privelllegd that the decisions it makes are unlikely to reflect how the law impacts on modern society
Most judges have been privatley edicatopn
Some argue that the priveelage and predijucies of theri class hinder the justices of the supreme court from maintaining judicial neutralility

Question 13

Functions of the supreme court

Answer 13

• Deciding whether a public body including the government has acted beyond its authority (ultra vires)
• Establishing where sovereignity lies within the UK
• Declaring whether government has acted in definance of the HRA 1998
• Determining the meaning of law, so setting judicial precents that must be followed in future cases