Supreme court

Question 1

role

Answer 1

uphold rule of law
can challenge government through judicial review
interpret/make common law - can be overturned by Parliament

Question 2

composition and representation

Answer 2

12 supreme court judges
recommended by the Judicial Appointment Commission
confirmed by the Lord Chancellor and PM
appointed by monarch

normally only 5-9 judges on each case
current president is Lord Robert Reed

representation
old - require 20-30 years of expertise
all white - reflects the traditional social inequality
only 1 woman - reflects traditional engrained misogyny

Question 3

creation

Answer 3

context
- law lords used to be the judiciary in the uk
- sat in the HofL - lacked separation of powers (Montesqieu)
- concern that ministers could influence rulings

created through the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - enforced in 2009

Question 4

Judicial independence

Answer 4

1. security of tenure - judges cannot be removed for their court rulings
2. salaries paid by consolidated funds - not from govt so no potential for corruption
3. sub judice - govt or media cannot comment on cases being on ruled on
4. JAC is indepedent

Question 5

neutrality

Answer 5

1. anonymity - cannot defend ruling in public - cannot express political opinions in public
2. political activity restricted - can vote - cannot express political opinion in public ie no public demonstration
3. justification of judgement - must be able defend their judgements as upholding rule of law

high level of training - regulated by law society
peer reviews act as checks and balances

Question 6

role of judges

Answer 6

1. dispensing justice + interpreting law - ensure law is applied fairly and interprets law when it is unclear
2. case/common law - create precedence where needed
3. judicial review - brought forward by private citizens or organisations against the govt
4. public inquiry - investigations concerning the public eg Leveson Inquiry 2013, Covid Inquiry (current)
5. external jurisdiction - settle disputes between Westminster and other levels of government
6. sentencing

Question 7

Judicial review examples

Answer 7

prorogation of Parliament 2019 deemed unlawful
Gina Miller 2016 - rules that article 50 can only be triggered by a vote in Parliament
Belmarsh case 2004
AA v Secretary of State 2022 - allowed a convicted drug dealer to remain in the UK - article 8
MS v Secretary of State 2020 - ruled the govt has a duty to protect victims of human trafficking
RR v Secretary of State 2019 - ruled bedroom tax was against HRA

Question 8

politicisation of the judiciary

Answer 8

increased use of judicial review to challenge the govt
- Braverman and Rabb frequent critics of the Supreme Court
BUT only 2.2% (2021) success rate - decline form previous yrs + only 2/18 HRA cases were successful
(speculation - due to ministers criticisms)

elevated status of ECHR eg Rwanda - first flight was stopped
BUT ministers to ditch deadline to scrap EU laws

quasi-legislative powers from unelected body
BUT expertise is required not accountability + rulings can be overturned by statue law + they have enforcement powers

growing authority since CRA
- independence and transparency
- clear separation of powers
- process of demystification