Supreme Court Flashcards
What did the creation of the SC bring an end to?
it brought an end to the situation in which the highest court in the land was located within the Lords
What is the SC?
the highest court in the UK political system
When was the SC established?
opened in 2009 established by Constitutional Reform Act of 2005
Why was the SC designed?
- to end fusion of powers at highest level of UK judiciary
- to create greater transparency
- to bring UK in line with most other Western countries
- to establish the country’s highest court clearly independent of parliament
What are the roles of the SC?
- final court of appeal for rulings made by the lower courts
- final court for appeal for criminal cases in Eng, Wales, NI
- final court of appeal for civil across whole of UK
- hears appeals on arguable points of law that matters wider public and of constitutional importance
How does EU law play a role in SC?
before Brexit the court had responsibility to interpret law passed by EU
How does the SC play a role in devolved bodies?
- still final court of appeal for criminal cases (except from scotland) and for civil cases
- makes rulings on cases where the devolved authorities may not have acted within their powers
Give an example of the SC ruling that a devolved body had exceeded its power
SC overruled Scottish gov’s scheme to introduce ‘named person’ service as it was in conflict with A8 of HRA because it would allow public bodies to share personal information without consent
Explain the composition of the SC
- 12 members
- always odd number at hearings so majority verdict can be reached
- in most cases five or possibly 9
How many judges took part in 2016-17 review of High Court ruling of who should initiate UK’s exit from EU?
11 took part - review of the HC ruling that parliament rather that government should initiate the UK’s exit from the EU
What is the gender composition of the SC?
- one female justice Lady Hale
- pressure on public institutions to reflect diversity in their composition
- The Times “pale, male and stale”
Explain the experience of a SC judge
- will usually have served as a senior judge for two years
- or been a qualified lawyer for at least 15 years
Who were the original members of the SC?
former law lords
Who makes nominations for SC judges?
independent five member selection commission
(consists of the president, deputy president of court, member of the judicial appointments commission, member of equivalent bodies for Scot and NI)
Who approves nominations for SC judges?
- lord chancellor either confirms/rejects nomination (cannot reject names repeatedly)
- then confirmed by PM and then monarch
What two key principles does the judicial system in the UK rest on?
- judicial neutrality
- judicial independence
What does judicial neutrality mean?
the expectation that judges will exercise their functions without personal bias
In which two ways must the impartiality of the SC be safeguarded?
through conflicts of interest
through public activities
How do judges remain impartial during conflicts of interest?
- refuse to sit in a case that involves a family member, friend or professional associate
- doing so would give rise to doubt about the justice’s detachment
How do judges remain impartial during public activities?
- may write and give lectures to educate public
- may involve themselves in charitable and voluntary activities
- must avoid political activity
- may serve on an official body, e.g. gov commission, provided it does not compromise their political neutrality
How has the SC become more transparent?
- it is more transparent in explaining its rulings than its predecessors
- its website carries full details of its decisions, the reasoning behind them
- allows for greater public scrutiny
- welcomes visitors
- its proceedings are televised over the internet
How can we suggest the SC is not entirely neutral?
- the narrowness of the SC’s composition in terms of gender, social and educational background is a real concern
- disproportionate number of white, privately educated males
What was Radmacher v Granatino case?
- case involved a pre nuptial agreement between marriage partners
- ruled that claims made in the event of a divorce should be limited
How can we use the Radmacher v Granatino case to argue against the neutrality of the SC?
- Lady Hale was the only one of the nine justices to dissent from the majority verdict
- gave the reason that the vast majority of people who would lose out as a result of this precedent would be women
What did Lady Hale say in her interview in 2015?
called for greater effort to promote greater diversity of background in appointments to the SC
What did Lady Hale say about the composition of the SC ?
out of the 13 justices sworn since her appointment:
- all were men
- all were white
- all but two from independent schools
- all but two attended Oxbridge
What is the idea of judicial independence?
the idea that judges must be free from political interference
Why is judicial independence vital?
- because they may be called on to administer justice in cases where there is a conflict between the state and an individual citizen
- people must know that they will receive impartial justice
- judges need to be confident that they can make a decision without fear that their career prospects will suffer
What in built guarantees of independence does the UK judiciary?
- terms of employment
- pay
- appointment
How do the terms of employment guarantee independence?
- judges cannot be removed from office unless they break the law
- only limit on their service is official retirement age
- security of tenure
- immune from legal action arising from any comments they may make on cases in court
How does pay guarantee independence?
- judges salaries are paid automatically from an independent budge (consolidated fund)
- no possibility of manipulation by ministers
How do appointments guarantee independence?
- judicial appointments commission
- selection commission
both are transparent in their procedure and free from political intervention
What is the most visible sign of the SC’s independence?
the fact that it is physically separate from parliament
What concerns were raised in 2011 that posed a threat to the independence of the SC?
concerns raised by its first president, Lord Phillips, on the subject of funding
What was Lord Phillips response to the spending cuts imposed on the court system as part of the coalition?
he argued that the court was at risk unless it could be allocated pre set, ring fenced funding
How did justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, respond to Lord Phillips?
dismissed his argument
insisted the SC was independent of political interference
the SC could not uniquely be permitted to set its own budget
What is one of the most important roles of the SC?
to interpret the 1998 HRA - the SC can issue a ‘declaration of incompatibility’ if it believes an existing piece of UK legislation is in conflict with HRA
How is power of SC limited?
- parliamentary sovereignty means SC cannot strike down laws
- no codified constitution against which the SC could test legislation
What is judicial review?
the court can inquire whether ministers have followed correct procedures
How does the SC influence executive and parliament?
judicial review - can examine the actions of public bodies to investigate whether they have acted beyond one’s powers
Example of a successful judicial review
the government had not consulted fairly on compensation for people affected by the planned High Speed Rail link
Why is judicial review vital?
- vital means of defending citizens rights
- enables legality of government actions to be properly scrutinised
- indicator of the growing prominence of rights in UK
What is the criticism of judicial review?
it is argued to place too much power in the hands of unelected and unaccountable judges
What is ‘judge made law’?
- issue of privacy
- judges have been accused of creating their own privacy law through the way in which they interpret the HRA
What do judges appear to give priority to and how does this occur?
- right to privacy over right to freedom of expression
- specific legislation on the subject had not been passed by parliament and was not explicitly covered by common law
What has been the most important constitutional case that has come before the SC to date?
January 2017 ruling of Brexit - whether the government needed the authority of parliament to trigger the process of leaving the EU following the referendum the previous June
