The Supreme Court Flashcards
When and why was the Supreme Court established?
The supreme court was established by the constitutional reform act 2005 and was finally opened in 2009. The aim was to to facilitate a greater separation of powers within the UK and remove the fusion of the judiciary that had previously existed as the judges sat within the Lords.
What is the role of the supreme Court?
It is the final court of appeal in the UK aside from Scotland which has it’s own judicial system, focused on appeals with constitutional or public importance, in terms of civil cases it can be from anywhere in the UK but for criminal it does not include Scotland.
Who is the current chief justice?
There re 12 justices in total, the current leader is Lord Reed who took over from Lady Hale after she resigned in 2020.
Give the two most recent examples of appointments to the Supreme Court?
Lady Simler - She was appointed in November 2023 and is the First Jewish person appointed to the Court. She has previously served in various employment tribunals and was later appointed to the court of appeal.
Lord Richards of Camberwell - He was appointed in October 2022 and had previously been appointed to the high court of justice as well as the court of appeal.
Explain the principle of Judicial Independence?
This is key to the separation of powers, judges are appointed by an independent panel and without political interference. They sit within a seperate body from parliament to help further emphasise this seperation.
How is Judicial independence Maintained?
Security of Tenure - They remain in their post until retirment which can be either 70 or 75 depending on when they were appointed. They can only be removed if parliament and the lords agree to do so, however, this has never happened.
Judges pay is also sent to them via an independent body rather than the government meaning that the government can’t cut their pay if they rule against them.
Give 2 examples of judicial decisions being openly criticised by the government?
In the 2019 Court case of R v Miller when the Supreme Court found that Boris Johnson had acted unlawfully by proroguing parliament the then Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng stated that many people perceived them to be biased which Jacob Rees Mog stated that it was a constitutional coup.
In October 2021 Suella Braverman criticised what she described as a huge increase in political litigation and accused the supreme court of stepping into areas of high policy.
Explain the concept of judicial neutrality?
Judges must always appear to be neutral and apolitical. They cannot be biased and cannot favour one group over another and must rely on the law entirely for their decisions.
How may judicial neutrality be undermined?
They are overwhelmingly white wealhty older men meaning that they are percieved to be the establishment and lack a variety of experiences.
For example there are only two women these being Lady Simler and Lady Rose.
Interestingly Lord Burrows was appointed straight from acedamia and in turn has no prior legal experience being the only one to not have this.
Only 1 out of the 12 judges this being Lord Stephens was not educated in Oxbridge which is especially unrepresentative considering that most people don’t attend even a Russel Group.
