UK Relations between branches (judiciary) Flashcards
Formal equality
All citizens must be treated equally under the law
Lord Chancellor
Before 2005 was the head of the judiciary, now just symbolic
Judicial precedent
A principle that when a judge in a court is making a point of the law it should follow other courts previous decisions. Only higher courts can overturn precedent
Judicial review
Where courts review a decision by a state or public body in relation to its citizens
Ultra Vires
When a body/government goes beyond its powers
Constitutional Reform Act
Created an independent judiciary in 2005
ECJ
European Court of Justice (EU)
Master of the Rolls
Second most senior judge after the Lord Chief Justice
Lord Chief Justice
Head of the judiciary in the UK
President of Supreme Court
Different to the Lord Chief Justice. President of the Supreme Court
Judicial appointment commission
Independent commission that selects candidates for judicial offices in the UK and Wales
Judicial independence
- Independent legal profession
- Role of the Lord Chancellor
- Creation of the Supreme Court
- Greater institutional autonomy
- Appointment process
- Security of tenure (in place until they are 70)
- Pay (decided by an independent body)
- Free from criticism
Judicial neutrality upheld
- The JAC identifies and eliminates from promotion any judges who demonstrate a lack of neutrality
- Length of legal training means they are held to professional ethics
- Attempts in recent years have been made to broaden the backgrounds of judges
Judicial neutrality not upheld
- Judges are demographically unrepresentative (male, pale and stale).
- Judges are seen as the establishment and included to uphold the status quo rather than change things
- Growing judicial activism means that it seems like there is a lack of neutrality
Changes to the judiciary Before 2005
- There were 12 Law Lords. They would be neutral crossbenchers.
- Head of the Law Lords was the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor had 3 roles. 1 - Speaker of the House of Lords 2 – responsible for the direction and management of the UK legal system. 3 – head of the judiciary.
- Lord Chancellor appointed senior judges and deciding which of the Law Lords would hear an appeal case.
- PM could have a final say on who was appointed as a judge
Changes to the judiciary Constitutional Reform Act, 2005
- Lord Chancellor no longer head of the UK judiciary.
- Lord Chancellor is no longer speaker of the Lords.
- Supreme Court was established with 12 senior judges known as Justices.
- Head of the Supreme Court is the president of the Supreme Court.
- When there is a vacancy, the Judicial Advisory Commission (JAC) is established. The JAC selects candidates for positions in England and Wales. The Lord Chancellor still formally selects the judge, but they can only veto once, so the JAC is always able to be superior. The commission has 15 members.
Judicial review cases:
A and others V Secretary of State for the Home Department (2004)
Focus: The detention and subsequent deporting of 9 suspected terrorists would go against Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the ECHR.
The case: Known as the ‘Belmarsh 8’, 8 foreign prisoners were held without trial under section 23 of the anti-Terrorism act. The original case was brought by the 9 who were threatened with deportation without trial. The case challenged the power of the executive in matters of national security.
The decision: The House of Lords ruled that the holding of the detainees was incompatible with Article 5 of the ECHR, however the Home secretary was not required to released the prisoners because of Article 15 in the ECHR which states that other articles can be suspended in times of war or national emergency.
Judicial review cases: Hirst v UK (2015)
Focus: Article 3 (right to a free election) on the idea of prisoners votes.
The case: After having the case dismissed by the high court, Hirst took it to the European Court of Human Rights. The ECHR ruled that denying the right to vote to prisons as a blanket ban was in contrary to the ECHR. They said that the UK government must work to allow the vote.
The decision: The right to vote for prisoners was rejected by Parliament, and the government then said prisoners would not get the right to vote.
Examples of EU laws in the UK
- Free roaming charges abroad in EU countries
- Right to be forgotten – citizens can have information about them removed from the internet
- There is equal access to all EU waters for fishing, and quotas to protect fishing stocks
- Working time directive 2003 - ensures a 48 hour work week, 4 weeks paid holiday, 20 minute breaks for every 6 hours of work, 11 hours break between shifts
Functions of the EU
Customs union, single market, economic union and political union.
Impact of the EU
In 2017, £274 billion (44% of all exports) went to the EU. UK imports were 53% from the EU totalling £341 billion.
Membership to the single market has affected the UKs ability to control free movement of goods.
Immigration policy has been a problem for the UK with one way movement.
As of 2014, 2.9 million people in the UK were EU nationals. This is 4.6% of the UK population at the time.
As of 2018, around 1.3m UK nationals live abroad in EU countries
Around 13% of UK laws have EU influence (this changes dramatically depending on where you look)
