relationship between branches Flashcards
what is the judiciary
the judiciary represents the courts and judges
the highest court being the supreme
courts set up precedents which can then be referred to in cases
although parliament enacts legislation , the meaning and relevance of those are worked out by judges
the constitutional reform act 2005 - removed law lords from the house of lords and established the Supreme Court
the 12 most senior judges now sit in the S court
justices must be independent of the legislature and the executive
the rule of law depends on judges not being influenced by government
the neutrality and independence of the Supreme Court
most of the justices are privately educated and attend Oxford or Cambridge so could make them ill suited to to interpreting law - might there privleges and prejudices stop them from being completely neutral - do they represent the establishment
men also dominate the Supreme Court in 2019 there were only 3 women
in what ways can the Supreme Court claim to be independent neutral
directly faces parliament - physical separation shows statement of independence
judges are not permitted to be members of a political party - a solicitor or barrister can but a judge must abandon this
salaries of judges not determined by parliament
since act of settlement (protestant succession to the crown) a senior judge can only be removed by a resolution passed by both Houses of Parliament - have scrutiny of tenure
don’t have to act in fear
constitutional reform act 2005 - established Supreme Court as separate institution from the legislature
court cases are open to public so bias would be shown through the media
when a case is heard it is said to be sub judice - means parliament can’t express opinion as this would breach separation of powers and undermine judicial independence. - if they did express an opinion the would contempt the court
might have been true before that judges favour the establishment but recently has show it doesn’t
eg gina miller case - it declared that the government did not have right to begin process of withdrawal from the European Union
to what extent does the Supreme Court influence the executive and parliament
determines meaning of the law- R V jogee case - overturned principle of ‘joint enterprise’ instead court stated there had to be an intent to kill
sc also determined to the extent to what the human rights act effected peoples relationship with the state
establishing whether a public body gas acted ultra vires - acting beyond on your powers
eg Gina Miller case 2017 - Theresa may trying to avoid going through parliament with her brexit deal so Gina took it to the Supreme Court where they ruled she was acting beyond her powers
determining location of sovereignty-
small influence and effectiveness of parliament on executive
fusion of powers- executive is in the legislature
lord halisham said executive had sm power that it was an ‘elective dictatorship’ because:
since public bill committees always have a government majority and are whipped, it is unusual for the opposition to be able to significantly amend legislation at commitee stage
government with large parliamentary majority can pass legislature easily
the government can use secondary legislation so HOC has less power to scrutinise
PM has extensive powers of patronage
government whips therefore offer ambitious backbenchers opportunities- encourage loyalty
royal prerogative - doesn’t have to consult parliament eg Theresa may 2018 syria
salisbury convention - HOL don’t challenge legislation that was in the winning parties manifesto since wld obstruct what public voted for
examples of weak parliament influence -
magaret thatcher - there was divisions In labour so conservatives were facing split opposition so neither sides were strong enough to challenge her policies
Tony Blair - won landslide general election - had majority of 179 seats
party was united
conservatives ability to oppose Blair was further undermined by conservative divisions over the eu
large influence of parliament on executive
harold wilson/James Callaghan 1974-79 - he won a parliamentary majority of just 3 and when James Callaghan took over labours majority disappeared so had to start a confidence and supply agreement but when this ended the government struggle and was defeated in a vote of no confidence
2005-10 - by 2005 Tony Blairs influence was in decline and in the general election his majority was reduced - consequently his backbenchers became less loyal and lost his first parliament vote on increasing detention for suspected terriorists . once gordon brown was PM David Cameron and the conservatives were stronger also reducing pm influence
2017 - Theresa may decided to call snap general election to try get a larger parliamentary majority so it would be easier to pass Brexit legislation however she lost seats= minority government so forced to start confidence and supply agreement with democratic unionist party
further failures to pass legislation shifted even more power to HOC
not even a powerful government should take parliament - eg in spite of thatchers 144 majority she still lost over shops bill
has ability of HOC to control government increased in recent years
the House of Commons
a 2009 commitee chaired by former labour mp Tony wright recommended in its report ways to increase the powers of backbench MPs - these reforms then occurred
2010 backbench business committee - backbench MPs control what is debated for 35 days
since 2010 select committees selected by vote not by whips like before - stops just loyal MPs being selected and instead independent minded ones
reduced government power due to new convention that HOC should be consulted on wether to commit British armed forces- eg David + Blair doing vote but Theresa using royal prerogative
extent to which HOC power has been increased is unclear
may using royal prerogative to commit British forces
fixed term parliament act 2011 still allows pm to call a general election if 2 thirds of MPs agree - could do it when opposition unpopular eg Theresa may in 2017
has ability of HOL to control government increased in recent years
Since removal of the hereditary peers to 92 and their replacement of life peers - HOL claims greater professional expertises so has become more self confident in opposing government legislation
it is also more balance- no conservative majority
although the powers of the HOL has not changed the peers willingness to use them has
eg 1999 - 2010 labour government faced 450 defeats in the hol
in 2015 the hol provoked even more controversy when it opposed the chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne to cut tax credits even though this was financial legislation so should not have oppose it due to parliament act 2011 – lords claimed they could as it was secondary legislation
what are the 4 freedoms of the eu
the free movement of goods
free movement of services
free movement of capital
free movement of people
what are the aims of the eu
the 4 freedoms
social treaty - should encourage workers rights , freedom from discrimination, equality, paid holidays, working hours and conditions and parental leave for birth of child
political union
common foreign and defence policy
peace
freedom
economic growth and competition
combat discrimination
promote technology
respect cultural diversity
single currency
the 4 freedoms
has the EU achieved its objectives
YES - by 2018 the EU expanded from 6 members to 28 and more have applied
the expansion of EU has encouraged democracy in former communist states in eastern europe
the implemantion of 4 freedoms means that the EU is now the biggest single market in the world
charter of fundamental freedoms has entrenched core civil liberties In eu law
in 2018 the GPD was worth 19.7 trillion , making the eu the second biggest economy in the world - 22% of the value of the global economy
the euro is the worlds second reserve currency
global lead on issues like climate change + some of most friendly legislation in world
NO -
impacts of eu
Worked rights - Can work in any eu country and have the same rights as other workers
Devolution - Northern Ireland and Ireland border removed so they can act as one economic state
Sovereignty - Fact attain - a Spanish company called fact attain sued the uk saying that we were preventing them from fishing in our waters which we were
We made a law saying only British fisherman can fish in our waters
They went to court and the eu won and overpowered the uk law
Public opinion - Changed by the eu - pro/anti eu
Community change
Conservative party - Eu has taken down lots of the Conservative party leaders
Other parties -UKIP created because of the eu
benefits of the eu for the uk
provided uk with duty free access to the worlds second biggest economy
we get cheaper eu imports
economy benefitted from EU immigration - contribute in taxation more than they take in benefits - in 2013-14 eu citizens in uk paid 14.7 billion in tax
over 3 million British jobs rely on trade with the eu
as a result of 4 freedoms British entrepreneurs can set up businesses anywhere they want in the eu, students can freely study in the eu and the elderly can retire in eu and still get British pensions - in 2017 1.3 million British citizens were living in eu countries
since 1987 the EUs Erasmus programme has encouraged educational exchanges across the eu - up to 20,000 British students have taken advantage of this
maastritch treaty - safeguards workers rights - maximum 48 week a year with 4 week paid holiday
assert shared values of democracy, human rights and rule of law
the eu is the worlds most advanced example of liberal approach global politics - bringing together independent nations into a union - stopped wars
arguments against the membership of the eu
undermines parliamentary sovereignty - created pooled sovereignty in the eu - gives eu laws precedence over our laws and parliament
parliament has lost its sovereign right to legislate on behalf of the people
eu accused of having democratic deficit at its heart - since its government (the European Commission) is not directly elected and its only elected body (the European Parliament) has much less influence than most legislative assemblies
Spanish company called fact attain sued the uk saying that we were preventing them from fishing in our waters which we were
We made a law saying only British fisherman can fish in our waters
They went to court and the eu won and overpowered the uk law
legal and political sovereignty
political - sovereignty exercised by the public - legislature and executive rely on consent to govern
at general elections public regains sovereignty when they choose who to vote for
legal - absolute right that every parliament has to enact whatever legislation it chooses
