What is the UK Judiciary? Flashcards
(19 cards)
why is it important to have an independent judiciary in the UK?
- checks and balances - each branch checks each other
- neutral judiciary - not affected by politics
- deals with constitutional matters
how many senior justices sit on the supreme court
12
when was the UK Supreme Court created
2009
what makes the UK Supreme Court so powerful?
- sits above all devolved powers - acts for all the UK
- Final court of appeal
- Shape common law
based on the debate around the courts and the Brexit process, what tensions exist between the judiciary and other branches of parliament
- Some Brexit supporters argued this was a constitutional matter and out of the remit of the Supreme Court
- Government could create legislation to get around the Supreme Court ruling or try change the Supreme Court completely
- Supreme Court were able to stop Johnson proroguing parliament (some saw this as an overreach, Supreme Court enforcing the Constitution of the UK, Parliament entitled to scrutinise executive - Johnson closed parliament to stop them scrutinising)
What was the significance of of the Constitutional Reform Act, 2005
- separated powers more clearly between the executive, legislature, and judiciary
- created the UK Supreme Court (effective from 2009), removing the judicial role of the House of Lords
- ended the role of the Lord Chancellor as head of the judiciary and Speaker of the House of Lords
- strengthened judicial independence by establishing the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC)
what qualifications are needed for appointment to the UK Supreme Court
- must have held high judicial officer for at least 2 years,
OR - Been a qualified practitioner (barrister or solicitor) for at least 15 years
- appointments are made based on merit by an independent selection commission
what is the process for someone getting appointed to the Supreme Court
- a vacancy arises
- five-member selection commission is convened to consider possible nominees and make a ‘selection’ based on merit
- the commission submits a report to the Lord Chancellor identifying a nominee
- Lord Chancellor
- accepts the selection by ‘notifying’ the PM
- once notified the PM must recommend the candidate to the queen
- appointment confirmed, once the monarch has issues letters patent
what are Magistrates’ Courts do
- trials of summary offences, committals to the crown court, family proceeding courts and youth courts
what do Tribunals do
Hear appeals from decisions on immigration, social security, child support, pensions, taxes, and land
what do Crown Courts do
- Trials of indictable offences, appeals from Magistrates’ Courts, case for sentence
what are County Courts
- Majority of civil litigation subject to nature of the claim
what are the 3 divisions of the High Court
- King’s Bench Division
- Family Division
- Chancery Division
what does the King’s Bench Division do within the High Court
Handles a wide range of common law cases, including those in the Administrative Court, Commercial Court, Technology and Construction Court, and Admiralty Court.
what does the King’s Bench Division do within the High Court
Deals with family law matters, including International Child Abduction cases.
what does the King’s Bench Division do within the High Court
Handles cases related to business, property, insolvency, and trusts.
what does the Criminal Division do
handles appeals from the Crown Court
what does the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) do
appears from the High Court, tribunals and certain cases from County Court
what does the Supreme Court do
- handles appeals from the Court of Appeal (and exceptional circumstances from the High Court)
- Devolutionary jurisdictional issues
