Supreme Court

Question 1

what is the Supreme Court?

Answer 1

The Supreme Court is the highest Court of Appeal and the highest court in the UK political system

Question 2

what did the Supreme Court increase?

Answer 2

The Supreme Court increased the separation of powers by bringing an end to the highest court in the land being located in the House of Lords

Question 3

what is the power relationship within the UK system of government?

Answer 3

there is a fusion of powers within the UK system of government

essentially, there is an overlap between the three branches of government…

• legislature — makes laws
• executive — takes and implements decisions on policy
• judiciary — interprets the law through rulings made in court cases

although in recent years, the UK has moved towards a greater separation of powers

Question 4

what is the judiciary?

Answer 4

The judiciary interprets the law through rulings made in court cases

Question 5

when was the Supreme Court established?

Answer 5

The Supreme Court was established through the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and opened in 2009

before this, law lords (the most senior judges) sat in the House of Lords and were known as the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords

Question 6

what was the establishment of the Supreme Court designed to end?

Answer 6

the establishment of the Supreme Court was designed to end the fusion of powers at the highest level of the UK judiciary

it created greater transparency and brought the UK more into line with other western countries

it did this by establishing the country’s highest court as clearly independent of Parliament

Question 7

why is it important to separate powers?

Answer 7

it is important to separate powers between the three branches of government

for example, separating powers between the judiciary and other branches of government ensures that it is free from political influence

Question 8

what does the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council deal with?

Answer 8

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council deals with cases from the Commonwealth or overseas territories

Question 9

what types of cases are heard in the Supreme Court?

Answer 9

only a few cases reach the Supreme Court

they must address a wider social concern and be of general public importance

Question 10

who is Lady Hale?

Answer 10

Lady Hale is the President of the Supreme Court and is the first woman to ever be appointed

Question 11

what does the Supreme Court do?

Answer 11

The Supreme Court sets precedent for all of the courts, meaning that all other courts must follow its decisions — this is known as the doctrine of precedent

Question 12

what is the set up of the Supreme Court?

Answer 12

Justices sit on a panel and lawyers sit on the other side (much like a discussion)

there is no jury, witness box, etc
unlike other courts

Question 13

what did the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 do?

Answer 13

the CRA 2005 also changed the role of the Lord Chancellor, who was previously…

• Cabinet minister — supervised the legal system (executive)
• Chairman of sittings in the House of Lords (legislature)
• Head of the judiciary, appointed other judges (judiciary)

there was big overlap between the three branches of government, as seen in the different roles of the Lord Chancellor

The CRA 2005 removed the last two of these roles from the Lord Chancellor

The House of Lords is now chaired by the Lord Speaker and judges are selected by an independent Judicial Appointments Commission

Question 14

how did the CRA reduce the fusion of powers?

Answer 14

The CRA reduced the fusion of powers in two main ways…

• establishing the Supreme Court
• reforming the role of Lord Chancellor

Question 15

what are the key principles of the Supreme Court?

Answer 15

neutrality — judges act without bias and make judgements based on law, not on their own personal values, key principle in the rule of law

independence — freedom from external control, judges are free from pressure from political bodies, allows judges to make decisions based solely on law, protects neutrality and important when the government is being taken to court

Question 16

how independent/neutral is the judiciary?

Answer 16

S — security of tenure for judges
E — experienced, will rarely be biased or influenced by personal views
C — contempt of court
G — guaranteed salary, free from financial pressures
S — separation of powers (e.g. Lord Chancellor’s role was reformed under the CRA 2005)
I — independent appointments system (JAC)

P — political neutrality
A — anonymity
L — legal justification

Question 17

what are threats to the independence of the judiciary?

Answer 17

One of the threats to the independence of the judiciary is that the government retains control via the Ministry of Justice

The Prime Minister has a veto over JAC appointments

there is also outside pressure from the media

although the case of Abu Qatada shows that the judiciary is generally independent

Question 18

what are the threats to the neutrality of the judiciary?

Answer 18

elitism (most of the Supreme Court Justices were educated at Oxbridge)

there are only three women and no ethnic minorities

The human rights act 1998 and the constitutional reform act 2005 have given the court more of a say in upholding minority and individual rights

Question 19

what is the relationship between the judiciary and executive?

Answer 19

until the 1970s, the judiciary was largely a Conservative body acting as a servant of the state rather than an equal partner but this has changed due to…

• growth of judicial review
• rise of liberal ideology and a ‘rights culture’
• appointment of more liberal judges since the 1990s
• introduction of the HRA 1998, allowing judges to declare that a law is incompatible with the HRA
• CRA 2005 separated the law lords from the House of Lords and established the Supreme Court

Question 20

what is the impact of the judiciary on the executive and Parliament?

Answer 20

can use the HRA 1998 to say a law is incompatible with the act

courts can say actions of a public body are ultra vires (acting beyond their powers)

judicial review

public inquiries — judges are often appointed to be the heads of such inquiries

Question 21

what are some issues that the judiciary and the executive/Parliament have come into conflict over?

Answer 21

issues they have come into conflict over include…

• terrorism v liberty
• parliamentary privilege
• Brexit (Gina Miller case)
• freedom of information
• human rights
• sentencing

Question 22

what does ultra vires mean?

Answer 22

ultra vires means ‘beyond power’

it is when a public body has acted beyond their powers

Question 23

what is the role of the Supreme Court?

Answer 23

The UK does not have a single, unified legal system — there are three different systems (One for England and Wales, one for Scotland and one for Northern Ireland) but the Supreme Court is the only UK wide court

it acts as a final court of appeal for rulings made by lower courts

it is the final court of appeal for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the final court of appeal for all civil cases across the UK

hears appeals on arguable points of law where matters of wider public and constitutional importance are involved

until the UK leaves the EU, the court also has a responsibility to interpret laws passed by the EU

makes rulings on cases where devolved bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may not have acted within their powers (see case study)

Question 24

CASE STUDY: the Supreme Court making a ruling on a case where a devolved body may not have acted within its powers

Answer 24

in July 2016, the Supreme Court overruled the Scottish government’s scheme to introduce the ‘named prison’ service which planned to appoint state guardians (such as health visitors or headteachers) to be responsible for the well-being of children

The Supreme Court ruled that this legislation was in direct conflict with article 8 of the human rights act (the right to a private and family life) as it would allow public bodies to share personal information without consent

this is an example of the Supreme Court ruling that a devolved body had exceeded its powers

Question 25

appointment of members of the Supreme Court: how many members does the Supreme Court have? how many hear cases?

Answer 25

The Supreme Court has 12 members known as justices

cases will be heard by an odd number of justices so that a majority verdict can be reached — in most cases, five or possibly even nine justices take part

however, 11 took part in the 2016-17 review of the High Court ruling that Parliament should initiate the U.K.’s exit from the EU rather than the government — this reflected the importance of the issue

Question 26

appointment of members of the Supreme Court: who is the most senior figure?

Answer 26

The most senior figure in the Supreme Court is known as the President of the Supreme Court

this post was held by Lord Phillips from 2009-12, Lord Neuberger from 2012-17 and the position is currently held by Lady Hale

Question 27

appointment of members of the Supreme Court: how many women are there in the Supreme Court?

Answer 27

there was previously only one female Justice (Lady Hale), which attracted some criticism and has put pressure on public institutions to reflect diversity in their composition

The Times used the phrase “pale, male and stale” to describe the members of the Supreme Court

although now there are three female justices (Lady Hale, Lady Arden and Lady Black), one of whom is the President of the Supreme Court and the highest judge in the land

Question 28

appointment of members of the Supreme Court: what are members referred to? what qualifications must they have?

Answer 28

members are referred to as a Lord or Lady but they do not sit in the House of Lords until their time in office has come to an end

justices will usually have served as a senior judge for at least 2 years or been a qualified lawyer for at least 15 years

Question 29

appointment of members of the Supreme Court: what happens when a vacancy occurs?

Answer 29

when a vacancy occurs, nominations are made by an independent 5 member Selection Commission

this commission consists of the President of the Supreme Court, the deputy president, a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission and a member of each of the equivalent bodies for Scotland and Northern Ireland

The Lord Chancellor either confirms or rejects the candidate put forward but cannot reject names repeatedly

appointment is then confirmed by the Prime Minister and then the Monarch

Question 30

how independent is the Supreme Court?

ISSUE OF FUNDING

Answer 30

concerns were raised in 2011 by Lord Phillips on the subject of funding

this came in response to spending cuts imposed on the court system as part of the coalition government’s strategy to eliminate the budget deficit

he argued that the independence of the Supreme Court was at risk unless it could be allocated preset, safeguarded funding

but Kenneth Clarke, Justice Secretary at the time, dismissed this argument

instead insisting that the Supreme Court was independent of political interference and that the government accepts its judgements, even those going against it

he stated that the Supreme Court cannot be uniquely permitted to set its own budget and this will remain under government control