Evaluate the view that the Supreme Court has too much power over the executive. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Parliamentary Sovereignty
- Accountability
- ECHR
Introduction - Argument
The Supreme Court has power over the executive, as one of its main roles is to check the actions of government, however, it does not have excessive power over the executive
Disagree - Parliamentary Sovereignty - Point
Parliamentary sovereignty is a key pillar to British politics, the Supreme Court on occasion has threated this sovereignty in its court rulings. This means some argued it has too much power
Disagree - Parliamentary Sovereignty - Examples
- In the 2017 case of UNISON v Lord Chancellor, the Supreme Court declared the governmnet has acted ultra vires by introducing fees for employment tribunals, although this was something that has passed in Parliament
- The PM is also given prerogative powers, however, in the case of Miller and Cherry v the Prime Minister in 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that Johnson has abused his power by proroguing Parliament to stop a no deal Brexit
Agree - Parliamentary Sovereignty - Point
The Supreme Court is only interpreting the laws set by the government and the government has the power to disregard the Supreme Court’s decision as it is not binding
Agree - Parliamentary Sovereignty - Examples
- In Her Majesty’s Treasury v Mohammed Jamar Ahmed case in 2010 the SC ruled that the treasury’s order to freeze the assest of suspected international terrorists was ultra vires on the ground of the UN resolution. However, Parliament simply passed the Terrorist Asset Freezing Act which made this legal
- In 2005, the Supreme Court and ECHR ruled in the Hirst v UK case, that the government had to give prisoners the right to vote. The government simply disregarded this result and to this day prisoners do not have the right to vote
Disagree - Accountability - Point
It can be argued that the Supreme Court holds too much power as it is unelected and therefore lacks accountability
Disagree - Accountability - Examples
- The appointment process is conducted by the independent Judicial Appointments Commission. There is very little input from the elected ministers other than the final sign off at the end by Lord Chancellor
- As the Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in the UK, there are no other courts to check its actions. In theory, it can work largely unchecked and simply scrutinise elected officials
Agree - Accountability - Point
The Supreme Court does actually have some very heavy checks on it, primarily from Parliament
Agree - Accountability - Examples
- The Supreme Court was created under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, therefore, if Parliament really wished to annex the Court all they have to do is repeal this act
- The government were able to massively reduced the number of applications to the Supreme Court for judicial review in 2013 by raising the court costs. The number of applicants between 2015 and 2019 fell 44%
Disagree - ECHR - Point
It can be argued that the Supreme Court has too much power as by enforcing the terms of the ECHR it stops the government achieving its aims
Disagree - ECHR - Examples
- In the 2004 Belmarsh Case the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the suspected terrorists saying that under the ECHR the Blair government could not hold suspected terrorists without trial indefinitley under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act
- In the 2019 McLaughlin v UK case the Supreme COurt ruled that the UK government had breached the ECHR Article 14 by denying an unmarried mother Widowed Parent’s Allowance
Agree - ECHR - Point
The Supreme Court does not completely stop the government passing rights legislation
Agree - ECHR - Examples
- The British Bill of Rights is currently passing through Parliament. If it passes this bill will repeal the Human Rights Act, and thus the ECHR in British law
- The Covid Act 2020 took away many fundamental rights for British citizens including freedom of movement and freedom of assembly
