Relationships Between Government Branches Flashcards
What is the Supreme Court?
The highest court of appeal for civil cases in all of the UK, and for all criminal ones, except for Scotland.
Before moving to the former Middlesex Guildhall in 2009, where did the Supreme Court used to sit?
Used to sit in the houses of parliament and the country’s top judges, aka Law lords, not only presided over the cases heard there but were also members of the house of lords.
What was one of the problems with the Supreme Court previously being based in the House of Lords?
When law lords sat in the house of lords, it wasn’t very accessible to the public- it was difficult for them to understand what was actually going on there and what the judicial process was like- since they didn’t understand these, very few people ever sat in the public galleries.
The working conditions weren’t perfect as there wasn’t much space for staff, and it wasn’t a good exhibition centre
How many stages must a case go through before it reaches the Supreme Court?
A typical civil or criminal case in England or Wales might have to go through 3 other coutts before it reaches sthe supreme court.
What’s the difference in the role of the Supreme Court between criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and criminal cases in Scotland?
In northern Ireland , a case will go through different stages within their legal system.
Case hearing oriocesses are similar in Scotland to northern ireland, although criminal cases from Scotland can only reach this court in certain circumtances.The high court of the Justiciary is usually Scotland;s highest court for crimnal matters however.
What’s the highest criminal court in Scotland?
The high court of the justiciary
What is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council?
Judges there also serve as the highest court court of appeal for a whole load of other countries in the commonwealth, and for british overseas territories when they sit as the JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL
Which cases make it as far as the Supreme Court?
Only a very limited amount of cases:
They must address a wider issue of importance to society; clearly seen in some of the most high profile cases
Doctrine of precedent
this doesn’t apply to only that one case, every other case that raises the same point, the judges in the courts below also have to do what the law is , as newly established by the Supreme Court.
