Institutional relationships Flashcards
(16 cards)
1
Q
supreme courts are independent
A
- Judges’ salaries paid automatically from independent budget (consolidation funds)= can’t be manipulated by gov, paid well so that there is less incentive for them to be influenced by financial pressure from political actors
= current salary of Supreme Court justices is £226,193 - Judges aren’t allowed to campaign for political parties or pressure groups
- Judges have to base each decision in law and provide full explanation of how they reached it
= decisions are published in full for ppl to read and scrutinise, whilst cases are televised on YouTube
= ensure Supreme Court is transparent and that it fulfils its role wo being influenced by personal political views - To get onto the Supreme Court, a judge has to have served as a senior judge for 2 years, or been a qualified lawyer for at least 15 years
= based on their past performance and experience
= President of the Supreme Court Lord Robert Reed, for example, has served as a senior judge since 1998 - Security of tenure= retirement age is 70= can’t be removed from court unless broken the law
- irrespective of the Supreme Court’s composition, they are still neutral as they base very decision in law and simply implement the law
- CRA 2005 removed the legislative and judicial role of the Lord Chancellor, who is now just a government minister= Supreme Court justices are now appointed by an independent 5-member Judicial Appointments Commission and the judiciary is headed by the most senior member of the Supreme Court, who is known as the ‘Lord Chief Justice’.
= ensure Supreme Court operates with sufficient judicial independence, as the gov now doesn’t directly select the highest judges in the country - SC upheld the law during Brexit cases against a gov that was seeking to act ‘ultra vires’
= Article 50 case, they were right to require Parl consent= triggering Article 50 and starting the process of leaving the EU involved the removal of rights conferred by parl (passing the 1972 European Communities Act)
In the prorogation case too, the SC simply prevented Johnson from avoiding parl scrutiny through using the power to prorogue for the gov’s benefit, upholding the sovereignty of Parliament
2
Q
supreme courts aren’t independent
A
- very narrow composition in terms of gender, age, education, class and race = leads to limited perspectives and potentially to an inability to fully understand certain issues/the situations of certain individuals
- Of the current 12 justices: 11 are male, 12 are white, 11 have studied at Oxbridge, 12 are over 60 and the majority went to private schools
= led to the Times describing the Supreme Court in 2011 as ‘pale, male and stale’ - ‘Radmacher v Granatino’ (2010). It was a case involving a prenuptial agreement between marriage partners, in which a majority of the justices upheld the principle that claims made in the event of a divorce should be limited
= Lady Hale was the only one of the 9 justices to dissent from the majority verdict
= said that the vast majority of people who would lose out as a result of the precedent would be women and argued that it may be better for Parliament to make such decisions where gender is a key element of the case, rather than a very unrepresentative Supreme Court - protection of judicial independence has been weakened due to increased media scrutiny of Supreme Court in relation to Brexit
= British tabloids ran hostile campaigns against the judges
= referred to the decision as a “judicial coup” or “undemocratic,” accusing the Supreme Court of blocking the implementation of the referendum result. = undermined public trust in the judicial system but also politicised the Court’s role= making it appear as if the judiciary was aligned w particular political agendas - Justices no longer as anonymous as they used to be= various parts of the media and politicians, including gov ministers, commented on and criticised decisions of the court
= putting undue pressure on the Supreme Court and threatening its ability to make independent decisions - SC ruled in 2019 that Johnson’s prorogation of Parl was unlawful, various right wing commentators and Johnson allies described the judges as ‘arch-remainers’= interfere too much in politics and limit the actions of a democratically elected gov
3
Q
impact of Constitutional Reform Act 2005
A
- Lord Chancellor no longer head of UK judiciary= now Lord Chief Justice (a non-political figure and a senior judge)
- Lord Chancellor no longer to be the Speaker of the HOL and ceased to sit in HOL
- Before the Act, the highest court in the UK was the HOL which served as both a legislative body and the final court of appeal
= helped clarify separation between the legislature (Parliament) and judiciary (courts) - judges of the new Supreme Court are no longer members of Parliament
- no longer involved in legislative debates and is solely responsible for interpreting and applying the law
- SC judge only removed by a vote in both houses of Parl and only for misconduct
- salary of judges is also guaranteed
= means they have security of both tenure and salary - Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent body responsible for recommending candidates for judicial appointments, including for the UK Supreme Court
= AC assesses and selects candidates based on their legal expertise, experience, and integrity. It looks for candidates with high standards in the application of the law, experience in legal practice, and the ability to act impartially
= PM and Monarch confirm the appointments of chosen judges
4
Q
roles of Supreme Court
A
- Where it is not clear what the common law is, judges make a judgement on what the common law means and how it applies
= once a senior court has declared the meaning of common law, that interpretation is binding on all other lower courts - Final Court of Appeal= hears cases that involve significant legal or constitutional issues
= R (on the application of Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (2017)= ruled that the gov couldn’t act wo Parl involvement
= reinforcing the principle of parliamentary sovereignty - Applying the rule of law
- Judicial Review of Government Actions
- Controlling abuses of power by government= Ultra vires
= rules Hunt couldn’t close down Lewisham hospital maternity services in 2013= beyond his legal powers - declarations of incompatibility even if parl passed
= R (on the application of M) v Secretary of State for Justice (2010) on the Sexual Offences Act 2003
= issued a declaration of incompatibility regarding Section 64 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which prohibited people convicted of certain sexual offences from being able to apply for early release on parole or to challenge their sentences after a certain period
= this declaration didn’t invalidate the law, but it required Parliament to reconsider this aspect of the law in light of the ruling
= parl responded by amending 2015 Criminal Justice and Courts Act
= Act also made it easier for those already serving IPP sentences to challenge their imprisonment and seek release if they had demonstrated sufficient rehabilitation
5
Q
key Supreme Court cases
A
- 2010 HM Treasury v Ahmed
= gov wished to freeze assets of suspected terrorists
= SC rules gov didn’t have legal power to do this= infringed on assumption of innocent until proven guilty in common law and HRA - 2010 Radmacher v Granatino
= SC rules prenuptial agreements were binding
= legally valid to make agreements over assets etc after a divorce - 2017 Miller v Sec of State for exiting European Union
= ruled UK gov couldn’t trigger article 50 wo vote in Parl
= must uphold parl sov - R. (Reilly) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2016)
= Reilly said that the DWP ‘welfare to work’ scheme was unlawful because the department had operated ultra vires= didn’t give fair assessment of whether Reilly could claim benefits - 2011 Al Rawi case and secret hearings
= case brought by former inmates of US prison @ Guantanamo Bay Cuba
= claimed that UK security services contributed to their detention and mistreatment
= security chiefs, supported by gov, argued that in the interests of national security, they must be allowed to give evidence in secret
= SC rejected argument on grounds that it breached one of the principles of a fair trial= each side must be able to see the evidence put before the judge - 2014 Nicklinson v Ministry of Justice 2014= Tony Nicklinson and 2 others were paralysed after car accident= wanted to go to Swiss suicide clinic= SC had to decide whether 1961 Suicide Act (made it illegal to encourage suicide) should be ruled unlawful
= 7/9 judges decided against the appeal as said that its a moral judgement so must be taken to Parl to vote
BUT lady hale made declaration of incompatability w article 9 - R (Factortame) v. Secretary of State for Transport (1990)
- 2013 Jeremy Hunt tried to close down Lewisham maternity secotr in hospital
= deemed ultra vires= went beyond his legal capabilities - Shamima Begum 2021
= SC reversed a decision by the court of appeal, judged that she is not entitled to have her British citizenship restored, and that she should not be allowed to return to the UK to fight her case in person
6
Q
Freedoms of the EU
A
movement of goods, services, people and capital
7
Q
Roles of European Commission
A
- executive body of EU= independent from member states
- President of EC is elected by European parl
- right to initiate legislation
- administers EU expenditure
- represent EU globally
- where heads of Govs meet to discuss major issues, set political direction of EU and make key decisions on economic situations
8
Q
Roles of Council of EU
A
- main decision making body of EU
- shares legislation power w European parl
- coordinate economic policy of member states
- develop foreign and security policy of EU
9
Q
Roles of European Parliament
A
- elected every 5 years= 705 members of Euro Parl w seats allocated in proportion to state’s population
- can’t initiate legislation but can veto and amend legislation
- can request or veto amendments to EU budget
- democratic supervision body that holds hearing and expresses concerns
10
Q
Roles of European Court of Justice
A
- upholds EU law
- decides cases of member states and EU institutions
11
Q
disadv of EU membership
A
- hard to navigate= no categories of gov
- EU institutions less accountable
- EU regulation is expensive
= Open Europe think tank predicted £33 mil cost per year, UK paid £19 mil to EU budget and only got £4.5bil rebate - leaving allows more trade e.g. 2021 w AUS and JAPAN
12
Q
EU parl TO vs UK parl TO
A
1979 EU= 61% vs UK= 31%
2019 EU= 51% vs UK= 39%
= EU parl= more democratic legitimacy
13
Q
Brexit timeline
A
- June 2016 Brexit ref= 52% leave vs 48% remain
- Jay 2016 May said “Brexit means Brexit, and we will make a success of it,”
- 2016 SC rejected to trigger Article 50 wo parl consent
14
Q
describe the uk as an EU partner
A
- influential over single market and defence
- often in the minority of states opposed to changes
- popular euro skepticism= key newspapers like Sun and Daily Mail and [arties like UKIP
15
Q
adv EU memebership
A
- EU accounts for 43% of UK exports and 52% of imports in 2019
- single market made UK foreign direct investment more attractive
- can be exempt from EU decisions e.g. 2012 Fiscal Compact Treaty
- leaving EU lowers UK GDP by 6.6% in LR
16
Q
roles of the Supreme Court
A
- act as final court of appeal
- hear appeals on issues of public importance surrounding arguable points of law
- hear appeals from civil cases
- hear appeals from criminal cases
