UK Judiciary Branch: Supreme Court Flashcards
(13 cards)
Structure of the Supreme Court
12 judges and final court of appeals in England, Wales, Northen Ireland and civil cases in Scotland.
Appointments to the Supreme Court in the UK
- Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC)
- High judicial office for at least 2yrs or judge for 15yrs
- 2009 Lady Hale, 1st woman
Composition of Supreme Court
- Average age 67, UK 40.5
- 2021 Only 2 women
- 0 judges from miority groups
- 2021 11 from Oxbridge
Three reasons why the UK Supreme Court
was established
- Incomplete Separation of powers
- Criticism of appointment process for Law Lords
- Confusion over the status, role and work of Law Lords
Principles that underpin the Supreme Court’s work
Rule of Law
- No one can be punished without trial
- No one is above the law
Judicial independence and judicial impartiality
Judicial independence Vs judicial impartiality
Judicial independence
- Jusdges operate independently from other branches
Judicial Impratiality
- Judges operate without personal bias
How UK system support judicial independence?
- Security of tenure
- Guaranteed salaries
- Growing separation of powers
- An independent appointments system
How is judicial impartiality guaranteed?
Anonymity
- Judges operate away from the public
Political activity
- Judges not engange in politics
Legal justifications of judgements
- Judges expected to explain their judgements
Has the UK judiciary become more politicised in recent years?
Yes
- HRA 1998, judges decide if law is fair
- Politicians broken convention by publicly criticising rulings
Daily Mail enemies of the people, 2019
No
- JAC transparent
- Security of tenure
- Increased conflict between judges and parliament example of judges challegning work of government
Ultra vires cases and the Supreme Court
2017 Gina Miller v Secretary of State for Exiting EU
- Court had to decide whether the government could act ultra vires by using royal prerogative powers to initiate Brexit, or if they needed to pass a law through Parliament.
- Court ruled government acted ultra vires
European Union law and the Supreme Court case
Factortame 1990
- UK law restricted foreign ownership of fishing companies, but Spanish company, argued it conflicted with EU law
- Court paused the UK law, EU law had priority
The Human Rights Act and the Supreme Court 2023
Rwanda Bill 2023
- Uk wanted to send asylum seekers to Rwanda
- Court ruled it as unlwaful as Rwanda is not safe country
- Sunak used emergency powers
- Bill passed in 2024
UK Supreme Court’s prorogation ruling
Gina Miller v Prime Minister 2019
- Prorogation was designed to limit Parliament’s ability to scrutinize government’s Brexit plans
- Court ruled prorogation was unlawful
