8.1 - The Impact of the Supreme Court on Legislative and Policy-Making Processes Flashcards

1
Q

What is the Supreme Court?

A

The highest court of appeal in the UK.

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2
Q

How many people are in the Supreme Court?

A

12.

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3
Q

Who does the judiciary represent?

A

The courts and judges.

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4
Q

Why are judgements reached in senior courts more important?

A

They can set legal precedents that can be referred to in subsequent cases.

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5
Q

Who works out how laws interact in the real world?

A
  • Parliament makes the laws.
  • The judges decide how they actually work in the real world.
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6
Q

Why are the judiciary arguably more important for legislation than Acts of Parliament?

A

‘Whoever hath the absolute authority to interpret any written or spoken laws, it is he who is truly the lawgiver and not the person who first wrote or spake them’.

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7
Q

What provides the basis for English Common Law?

A

How senior judges interpret Acts of Parliament and resolve cases creates legal precedent.

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8
Q

Why are decisions of the supreme court supremely important?

A

The decisions it reaches must be followed in future cases.

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9
Q

What used to be the highest court of appeal prior to the Supreme Court?

A

The Lords.

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10
Q

Which Lords acted as the highest court of appeal?

A

The 12 Law Lords in the Appellate Committee.

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11
Q

Why were the Lords split from the judiciary?

A

Having the Lords also act as as the highest court of appeal breached the principle of the ‘separation of powers’.

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12
Q

Who split the Lords from the Judiciary?

A

Blair.

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13
Q

When did Blair split the Lords from the Judiciary?

A

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

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14
Q

What replaced the Appellate Committee?

A

The Supreme Court.

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15
Q

Why is the supreme court better than the previous appellate committee?

A
  • Separates powers.
  • More open to public scrutiny.
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16
Q

How far does the jurisdiction of the supreme court reach?

A

Across the whole UK and is the highest court of appeal for all civil cases.

Final court of appeal in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the High Court of the Justiciary fulfils this role.

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17
Q

How does the Supreme Court hold the government to account?

A

There is a judicial review on how the government has acted.

18
Q

How is Supreme Court membership decided?

A
  • Five-member selection commission made of the most senior judges in the UK.
  • Then passed to justice secretary who has the opportunity to reject a nomination.
  • Then passed to the monarch to make the appointment.
19
Q

Why is it vital that justices of the supreme court are independent?

A

Decisions should be reached on the principles of justice, rather than political pressure.

20
Q

Why do some criticise the supreme court?

A

The privileged nature of the justices make it unlikely to reflect the way in which law interacts with modern society.

21
Q

How is the Supreme Court unrepresentative?

A

Mostly men, who have been privately educated and then attended Oxbridge.

22
Q

What does the social status of judges tend to mean about case decisions?

A

They tend to favour (hmm..) the establishment.

23
Q

How does the government still retain some political influence over the appointment of justices?

A

The justice secretary does not need a legal background, yet has the power to reject a nominee.

24
Q

How can the Supreme Court be pulled into politics?

A

In cases concerning major political disputes, the neutrality of the court could be argued.

25
Q

How can the Supreme Court claim to be neutral and independent?

A
  • Judges are not allowed to be party members.
  • Judicial salaries are not determined by Parliament.
  • It is incredibly difficult to remove senior judges from office.
  • Appointments are more transparent since the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
  • Court cases are generally open to the public, so any bias would become apparent quickly.
  • Parliament is under ‘sub judice’ when a case is being heard.
26
Q

What is sub judice?

A

The inability of Parliament to express an opinion on cases that are currently being heard.

27
Q

How have judges recently become less socially conservative?

A

The judiciary has become more willing to confront both Parliament and the executive.

28
Q

How has the judiciary stood up to Parliament recently?

A
  • The Gina Miller case, the government did not have the authority to begin withdrawal from the EU.
  • supreme court ruled that the government’s Rwanda scheme was unlawful
29
Q

What is judicial neutrality?

A

The rule of law requires that judges must be neutral.

30
Q

Why is the UK Supreme Court less powerful than those found in the USA?

A

There is no codified constitution to refer to legislation.

31
Q

What constitutional and political functions does the Supreme Court hold?

A
  • Determining the meaning of law.
  • Deciding whether a public body has acted beyond its authority.
  • Establishing where sovereignty is found within the UK.
  • Declaring when the government has acted in defiance of the HRA.
32
Q

Why do decisions made in the Supreme Court carry greater weight than in other courts?

A

There is no place to appeal above the Supreme Court.

33
Q

What is ultra vires?

A

The principle that one has ‘acted beyond one’s authority’.

34
Q

Where can ultra vires often be applied?

A

To quash actions made by governmental departments that overstep the mark.

35
Q

To what extent does the Supreme Court influence the executive and Parliament?

A
  • Determining the meaning of the law.
  • Establishing whether a public body has acted ultra vires.
  • Determing location of sovereignty in the UK.
  • Declarations of incompatibility with the HRA.
36
Q

Why is the power of the Supreme Court to determine location of sovereignty so important?

A

The location of sovereignty can be disputed, so their decisions can be very important.

37
Q

What was the Gina Miller case?

A

The Supreme Court ruled that as Parliament decided to join the EU, Parliament must also decide to leave the EU, not the government.

38
Q

Why are judges unable to strike down Acts of Parliament?

A

Due to Parliamentary sovereignty.

39
Q

What does the Supreme Court do in an event of the ECHR being infringed?

A

The judges issue a formal statement of incompatability, which places significant pressure on Parliament to amend the law.

40
Q

Is the Supreme Court influential? (Yes)

A
  • The UK’s most senior court.
  • The UK’s final court of appeal.
  • Supreme Court justices are the most senior in the UK.
  • Significant pressure can be placed on government to amend/repeal Acts that are incompatible with other laws.
  • The Supreme Court decides the location of sovereignty in the UK.
41
Q

Is the Supreme Court influential? (No)

A
  • Parliamentary sovereignty means Parliament can ignore decisions.
  • The Supreme Court cannot initiate cases.
  • The Supreme Court cannot cause the government to repeal laws.
  • The Supreme Court is bound by what the law states.