Evaluate the view that the Supreme Court operates with sufficient judicial independence and neutrality. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Independence
- Neutrality
- Appointments
Introduction - Argument
Currently, the Supreme Court does remain sufficiently independent and neutral, however, there are some serious threats to this
Disagree - Neutrality - Point
Recently, there has been increased politicisation of the Supreme Court within the media and from Jonhnson’s government. This has compromised the neutrality
Disagree - Neutrality - Examples
- The Supreme Court ruled on some incredibly political issues including that Scotland could not hold an independence referendum without the UK Government’s consent and that Boris Johnson could not prorgue Parliament to pass Brexit legislation
- Johnson has announced the creation of the Constitution, Democracy and Rights Commission to look into reforming the SC
Agree - Neutrality - Point
The key to remaining judicially neutral means no bias is demonstrated towards either party. The Supreme Court has ruled against both the Conservative and Labour government
Agree - Neutrality - Examples
- The SC ruled in 2019 in the McLauglin v UK case that the government was in breach of the ECHR when they denied an unmarried mother Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- In 2004, the SC ruled against the Labour government in the ‘Belmarsh Case.’ They agreed that Blair could not hold terrorists without trial under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act
Disagree - Appointments - Point
It is difficult to categorise the UK Supreme Court as completely independent and neutral when the Lord Chancellor plays a role in the appointment of Justice
Disagree - Appointments - Examples
- In the appointment process, the Lord Chancellor, currently Alex Chalk, has the ability to accept or reject the commissions recommendation. This compromises the independence of the court
- Although a Supreme Court nomination has never been rejected, in 2011, Ken Clarke rejected the nomination of two tribunal judges
Agree - Appointments - Point
The relative involvement of ministers in the appointment process of judges is limited. For the most part, the process remains out of the media and out of party politics
Agree - Appointments - Examples
- The Judicial Appointments Commission which has the most influence of the process. This commission is made up of the President of the Supreme Court, Lord Reed, another UK judge and a representative od each legal appointing bodies in the UK
- The media coverage of a judicial appointment is relatively limited. Since 2020 there have been 7 appointments to the Supreme Court but the majority of people would be unaware
Disagree - Independence - Point
It is impossible for a judge to be completely independent, as jusitices are human and have their own internalised views and prejudices. The UK Supreme Court is particularly unrepresentative - this may affect their independence
Disagree - Independence - Examples
- There are 12 Justices currently sreving on the Supreme Court. Out of these 12, only one, Lady Rose, is a women, all are while and only Lord Stephens was not educated at Oxbridge
- This is very close to the composition of Parliament - there are proportionally more men to women and little minority representation
Agree - Independence - Point
There is little evidence to support the argument of judicial bias from justices, it is more mere stipulation. There are many mechanism in place to ensure judicial independence
Agree - Independence - Examples
- The Supreme Court has ruled against the government on multiple occassions. For example, in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that the government could not enforce their ‘bedroom tax’
- The Salaries of the Judges is decided by an independent body, the Senior Salaries Review Body, which are always followed by the PM. Judicial salaries cannot be cut and there are strict rules about what expenses can be claimed
