Relations Between Branches- The Supreme Court

Question 1

Supreme Court

Answer 1

The highest court in the UK political system.

Question 2

Constitutional law

Answer 2

Statute laws, common law or conventional rules which concern the ways in which government operates and which deal with the distribution of political power.

Question 3

Civil law

Answer 3

Unlike criminal law, which involves criminal activity, civil law refers to private disputes between individuals and organisations.

Question 4

Key features of the Supreme Court

Answer 4

+ It is the highest court in the UK.

+ Only the UK Parliament can overturn decisions of the supreme court by
passing new legislation or amending existing law.

Question 5

The membership of the court is as follows:

Answer 5

+ There are 12 senior judges who all have extensive legal experience.

+ The head of the court is the president of the supreme court.

+ The judges are appointed by an independent panel of the country’s senior legal figures, so that it can be independent of political pressure.

Question 6

The role of the Supreme Court can be described as follows:

Answer 6

+ It is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the UK and criminal cases
from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

+ It concentrates on cases of the greatest public and constitutional
importance.

+ It may hear constitutional law cases, as well as criminal and civil law cases.

+ It hears appeals on arguable points of law — it clarifies the meaning and application of law which may not be clear from the wording of the law.

Question 7

Key cases to illustrate the work of the Supreme Court

Answer 7

Schindler v Duchy of Lancaster

Miller

Miller II

Friends of the Earth v Heathrow Airport

Question 8

Schindler v Duchy of Lancaster
Year

Answer 8

2016

Question 9

Miller
Year

Answer 9

2017

Question 10

Miller II
Year

Answer 10

2019

Question 11

Friends of the Earth V Heathrow Airport
Year

Answer 11

2020

Question 12

Schindler v Duchy of Lancaster
Legal or constitutional principle

Answer 12

The Right to vote

Question 13

Miller
Legal or constitutional principle

Answer 13

The prime minister’s prerogative powers over treaties and diplomacy

Question 14

Miller II
Legal or constitutional principle

Answer 14

The prime minister’s prerogative powers to prorogue (suspend)
Parliament

Question 15

Friends of the Earth v Heathrow Airport
Legal or constitutional principle

Answer 15

Judicial review

Question 16

Schindler v Duchy of Lancaster
Issue

Answer 16

should UK citizens who had lived abroad for more than 15 years be able to vote in the 2016
EU referendum?

Question 17

Miller
Issue

Answer 17

The case challenged the prime minister’s claim that they could automatically trigger
Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the provision by which an EU member state signals its intention to leave the EU.

Question 18

Miller II
Issue

Answer 18

The prime minister advised the monarch to suspend Parliament, which is usually a formality after a year or so, paving the way for a short recess and then the next parliamentary session. However, did he do so to avoid scrutiny over his Brexit plans?

Question 19

Friends of the Earth v Heathrow Airport
Issue

Answer 19

Whether the government ignored the UK’s climate change commitments under the Paris Agreement by giving the go-ahead for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.

Question 20

Schindler v Duchy of Lancaster
Outcomes

Answer 20

The vote was denied to such citizens as they had forfeited their rights by living abroad for so long.

Question 21

Miller
Outcome

Answer 21

The court ruled that only Parliament could give the prime minister authority to trigger article 50 - their prerogative powers could not undermine parliamentary sovereignty.

Question 22

Miller II

Answer 22

The court ruled that Boris Johnson’s advice to the monarch had on this occasion been unlawful, since it was given with intention to evade parliamentary scrutiny.

Question 23

Friends of the Earth v Heathrow Airport
Outcome

Answer 23

Construction of a third runway at Heathrow could proceed, as the government was still taking into account its legal obligations on the environment.