UK Supreme Court

Question 1

3 functions of the Supreme Court

Answer 1

• Final court of appeals
• Clarify meaning of the law
• Interpret the constitution

Question 2

How many justices are there?

Answer 2

12

Question 3

What was the judiciary before the Supreme Court was established?

Answer 3

The Law Lords in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords

Question 4

How were justices appointed before 2005?

Answer 4

The PM and Lord Chancellor would advise the Monarch on their picks

Question 5

How did the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act change the judicial appointment process?

Answer 5

Reduced the power of the Lord Chancellor and created the independent Judicial Appointments Committee (JAC)

Question 6

What qualifications are needed to be eligible for the UK Supreme Court?

Answer 6

Held high judicial office for 2 years
OR
Been a ‘qualifying practitioner’ for 15 years

Question 7

Gender representation of the Supreme Court

Answer 7

Only one woman out of twelve justices

Question 8

Ethnic minority representation of the Supreme Court

Answer 8

No ethnic minority representation

Question 9

Age representation of the Supreme Court

Answer 9

All over 60

Question 10

Why was the Supreme Court established?

Answer 10

• Concerns over separation of powers
• Criticism of appointment system
• Confusion amongst public of Law Lords role

Question 11

3 aspects of the rule of law

Answer 11

• No one can be punished without trial
• No one is above the law
• The principles of the constitution result from judicial decisions

Question 12

Why is it not true that ‘no one can be punished without trial’ in the UK?

Answer 12

Under terrorism prevention measures passed in 2001, terrorist suspects can be subjected to punishment such as indefinite detention and freezing of assets

Question 13

Why is it not true that ‘no one is above the law’ in the UK?

Answer 13

The monarch is above the law
MPs have parliamentary privilege

Question 14

What is judicial independence?

Answer 14

The principle that those in the judiciary should be free from political control

Question 15

What is judicial impartiality?

Answer 15

Judges operating without their personal biases

Question 16

How is judicial independence maintained in the UK?

Answer 16

• Security of tenure
• Guaranteed salaries
• Independent appointment process
• Training and expertise required

Question 17

How is judicial impartiality maintained in the UK?

Answer 17

• Judges maintain a low public profile
• Judges not allowed to engage in political activity
• Decisions must have legal justifications

Question 18

How could a judge, theoretically, be removed?

Answer 18

Through an impeachment vote in both houses of parliament

Question 19

Why is it good that judges have a guaranteed salary?

Answer 19

Means politicians are unable to manipulate their salary to control them

Question 20

What are some threats to judicial impartiality?

Answer 20

• Judges all have similar backgrounds
• The large amount of post-97 constitutional reforms have resulted in an increase in high-profile judiciary cases

Question 21

Has the judiciary become more politicised recently? - YES

Answer 21

• Factortame established the precedent that UK courts could suspend Acts of Parliament
• The creation of a separate Supreme Court has increased their publicity
• Recent rulings against May and Johnson governments over Brexit

Question 22

Has the judiciary become more politicised recently? - NO

Answer 22

• JAC has made the court more independent
• Increased conflict between court and politicians can be seen as good as it shows the court is effective
• Left EU so parliamentary sovereignty become stronger

Question 23

What is judicial review?

Answer 23

Judges reviewing the actions of public officials/bodies to determine whether they have acted lawfully or not

Question 24

What does ultra vires mean?

Answer 24

Beyond one’s authority (granted to them by law)

Question 25

What happened when the UK government incorporated the Treaty of Rome into UK law in 1972?

Answer 25

Gave EU law precedent over UK law

Question 26

Factortame (1990)

Answer 26

- Factortame were a shipping company who challenged whether the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 violated EU law - Law aimed to prevent fishing boats from registering in UK but fishing elsewhere in Europe as it affected their quotas - The law was suspended for violating EU rules regarding freedom of movement by the Law Lords

Question 27

Human Rights Act (1998)

Answer 27

Incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law

Question 28

Tigere v Business Secretary (2015)

Answer 28

- Tigere was a girl born in Zambia but who had lived in the UK since she was 6 - She was not eligible for a student loan because she wasn't a UK citizen - She successfully argued this violated Article II of the ECHR (the right to education)

Question 29

What is a derogation?

Answer 29

When a country is temporarily permitted to suspend the ECHR in times of national crisis

Question 30

Why is the HRA weaker than the US Bill of Rights?

Answer 30

The HRA is not entrenched nor superior to regular statute

Question 31

Which committee reviews bills before they are passed to check they comply with the HRA?

Answer 31

Joint Committee on Human Rights

Question 32

How did the HRA make the Supreme Court more powerful?

Answer 32

Empowered the UK's judges to directly question Acts of Parliament based on a clear set of rights

Question 33

Why are ultra vires rulings limited?

Answer 33

Ministers can use the executive's control of Parliament to pass legislation legitimising their earlier actions

Question 34

When was the ECHR drafted?

Answer 34

1950

Question 35

How will leaving the EU impact the Supreme Court?

Answer 35

- Reduction in significant cases as many recent ones have been EU related - No longer required to enforce EU law over UK law - COULD enhance their role as there is no longer a superior court to them

Question 36

R(Nickilson) v Ministry of Justice 2014

Answer 36

Article 8 of the ECHR (right to privacy) could not be used to justify assisted suicide

Question 37

Sutherland v Her Majesty's Advocate 2020

Answer 37

A man was found to be indecently texting a 48 y/o decoy when they thought they were texting a 13 y/o girl. The court that the evidence collected was valid and did NOT violate Article 8 of ECHR (right to privacy)

Question 38

Begum v Home Secretary 2020

Answer 38

Ruled that Shamima Begum had the right to challenge the UK government for stripping her British citizenship over Article 2 and 3 of the ECHR

Question 39

Why did the Supreme Court rule that Johnson could not prorogue parliament in 2019?

Answer 39

The power of the royal prerogatives must respect the conventions of parliamentary sovereignty and democratic accountability - particularly during the Brexit process

Question 40

Recent ruling of Supreme Court in relation to Scottish devolution

Answer 40

Ruled in 2023 that the Scottish Parliament could not approve another independence referendum without approval from Parliament

Question 41

How can the Supreme Court be described as quasi-legislative?

Answer 41

They have the power to establish precedent through common law