Relationships Between Branches

Question 1

How many Supreme Court justices are there in the UK?

Answer 1

12

Question 2

Judicial Independence

Answer 2

Judges must be independent from control or persuasion by the executive or legislative

Question 3

Judicial Neutrality

Answer 3

The judgment that judges reach must never be influenced by any personal prejudice or political beliefs.

Question 4

3 ways in which judicial independence are protected:

Answer 4

• Judges salaries are not determined by parliament
• Judges appointed by an independent committee
• Parliament cannot express an opinion on a court case that is being heard (‘sub judice’)

Question 5

3 ways in which judicial neutrality is protected:

Answer 5

• Judges in the UK are not permitted to be a member of a political party
• Court cases are open to the public and so judgments are in the public domain - bias would be exposed by the media
• Full proceedings of the SC can be photographed and are live streamed to the public

Question 6

What are the courts constitutional powers?

Answer 6

• deciding whether a public body has acted beyond its authority (ultra vires)
• establishing where sovereignty is located
• declaring when a gov has acted in defiance of the HRA
• determining the meaning of law and setting judicial precedents

Question 7

Gina Miller Case 1 (2017)

Answer 7

Supreme Court ruled that parliament had to enact legislation to remove the UK from the EU, not the government. This was because Parliament had voted had enacted the legislation in 1972 to bring the UK into the EEC in the first place. Gave power back to parliament.

Question 8

Gina Miller Case 2 (2019)

Answer 8

Supreme Court ruled that Boris Johnson had acted beyond his power by trying to prorogue (suspend) parliament for 5 weeks. Limited the power of the executive and was a win for parliamentary sovereignty.

Question 9

AM vs Secretary of State for the Home Department (2020)

Answer 9

Supreme Court blocked attempts by the Home Office to deport an individual convicted of serious offences back to Zimbabwe as he had HIV and his life would have been shortened if he returned. Demonstrates struggle between collective and individual rights.

Question 10

Belmarsh Case 2004

Answer 10

Blair government used the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 to hold foreign terror suspects indefinitely without trial. Law lord declared this was a violation of the ECHR and so the government released the detainees. However the gov enacted further legislation to monitor the whereabouts of these suspects.

Question 11

What factors affect parliamentary influence of the executive?

Answer 11

• the size of gov majority
• the popularity and strength of a leader
• how unified the governing party is

Question 12

What are the main aims of the EU?

Answer 12

• monetary union
• social unity
• protection of human rights
• political union
• common foreign and defence policy

Question 13

Treaty of Rome 1957

Answer 13

Established the EEC

Question 14

Single European Act 1986

Answer 14

Committed the EEC to the creation of a single internal market

Question 15

Maastricht Treaty 1992

Answer 15

Established the EU with common citizenship.
Committed members to pursuing a common foreign and security policy and launched plans for single European currency.

Question 16

What are the 4 freedoms of the EU?

Answer 16

• goods (no tariffs)
• services
• capital
• people

Question 17

How many countries in the EU use the Euro?

Answer 17

20/27 as of 2024

Question 18

How are human rights protected in the EU?

Answer 18

By the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union 2000

Question 19

How many member states does the EU have?

Answer 19

27

Question 20

Examples of EU members who don’t use the Euro?

Answer 20

• Denmark
• Hungary
• Czeck Republic

Question 21

How much was the EU’s GDP worth in 2022?

Answer 21

$17.9 trillion

Question 22

What did the UK benefit economically from EU membership?

Answer 22

• duty-free access to the world’s second biggest economy
• UK exporters could sell abroad more cheaply
• UK consumers benefitted from cheaper EU imports
• EU immigrants contributed to the workforce and paid tax
• more than 3m jobs relied on trade with the EU

Question 23

How much did non-British EU citizens pay in tax from 2013-4?

Answer 23

£14.7bn

Question 24

What were the social benefits of the EU for the UK?

Answer 24

• Erasmus Programme encouraged educational exchanges - up to 200,000 British students took advantage of the programme
• Social Chapter provided safeguards for workers such as 4 weeks paid holiday
• EU promoted peace across Europe
• Incorporated the European Charter of Fundamental Rights into UK law

Question 25

What are the arguments against EU membership?

Answer 25

- challenged parliamentary sovereignty - UK trade with EU was too high and they should engage further with global trade - EU legislation added another layer of unnecessary law - costs £33bn every year according to Open Europe

Question 26

Factortame Case

Question 27

Factortame Case

Answer 27

Member states of EU cannot restrict access to each other’s fishing grounds and the Common Fisheries Policy set quotas of fish that can be caught. The UK passed the Merchant Shipping Act in 1988 which limited the ability of foreign vessels to fish in British waters which was in defiance of EU policy. Spanish company (Factortame) appealed to the law lords and they decided the Act should be disapplied.

Question 28

What factors are argued to reduce parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 28

- referendums (popular sovereignty) - devolution - the Supreme Court - EU membership