Studied by 4 peopleThe composition of the supreme court?
12 senior judges sit with the head being the president.
When was the supreme court created?
2005.
Who created the supreme court?
Blair
How is supreme court membership determined?
By a 5 member selection committee made up of the most senior judges. Nominations from them are passed to the justice secretary who passes it to the PM, who asks the monarch to make the appointment.
What are the roles of the supreme court?
To provide a separation of power.
To work out the meaning and relevance of the law.
To create case law, providing the basis for British common law.
To act as the final court of appeal, meaning their judgments are of profound importance.
To work open to public scrutiny.
To be independent due to the ‘rule of law’.
How is the supreme court independent?
Physical separation from Parliament.
Judges cannot have any party affiliation (no party members)
Salaries are not determined by parliament.
The 2005 removal of law lords.
Transparency in appointments.
Cases and judgements are public.
Cases are photographed and livestreamed.
Criticisms of the supreme court?
Members are mostly from elite backgrounds and therefore favour the establishment.
Privileges and prejudices of their class hinder their ability to maintain judicial neutrality.
There is a political dispute risk when a case concerns the government.
How does the supreme court limit the executive and Parliament?
It can determine if actions are within the law through judicial review as it possesses the ultimate authority to determine statute law.
Recent praise of the supreme court.
Recently, judgements have gone against government.
An example of the supreme court ruling against the government.
Tigere vs Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, and Skills (2015).
Tigere came to the UK aged 6 from Zambia, completed her A-Levels, but was ineligible for student loans as she did not have indefinite leave to remain and could not apply to get it until 2018. The SC accepted her appeal of the grounds of HRA article 2 (right to education) and 14(prohibiting discrimination).
Criticisms of the supreme court?
There have been claims that the judiciary had been politicised.
Examples of the supreme court using principles of the ECHR.
Gina Miller case (2017)
HJ & HT v Home Secretary (2010)
Shamima Begum (2021)
An example of the supreme court determining the meaning of the law.
Ru Jogee (2016)
The supreme court overturned the principle of ‘joint enterprise’ in a murder case, stating that there had to be ‘intent to kill’ to be held guilty.
Who is the executive accountable to and why?
The House of Commons as it represents the will of the British people, as expressed through elections.
Criticisms of the executive in the legislature?
Government exerts a lot of control, especially with the use of whips, limiting debate.
They can also change law with secondary legislation.
Criticisms of the PBC?
They have a government majority and are whipped.
An example of weak parliamentary influence over the executive.
In 1997, Blair won a landslide majority of 179 with an almost totally united party whilst the Conservatives only had 165 MPs.
An example of strong parliamentary influence over the executive.
In 2019, Johnson faced an uncooperative HoC and faced the humiliation of Parliament seizing control of business, enacting the Benn bill, extending Brexit if no deal was achieved.
How has Parliament’s ability to control the government developed recently?
In 2010, the backbench business committee was established allowing backbench MPs 35 days to control debate.
In 2010, secret ballots to elect select committee chairs was introduced, removing the influence of whips.
The liaison committee regularly questions the PM.
E-Petitions are sent directly to Parliament.
HoC speakers can authorise more urgent questions.
There is no legal requirement to authorise military action.
How can the government still control Parliament heavily?
The PM can call a snap general election.
Benefits of the limiting of hereditary peers?
The HoL can claim greater professional expertise and the built-in Tory majority has been removed, resulting in a balanced chamber.
Peer’s willingness to use powers has increased.
How many defeats did the 1999 - 2010 labour government suffer?
More than 450.
An example of lords opposing a government.
In 2015, the HoL opposed the attempts of the Chancellor of the exchequer (Osborne) to cut tax credits despite it concerning financial legislation. They argue that they could oppose it as it was secondary legislation.
What are the aims of the EU?
The 4 freedoms.
Monetary union.
Social unity.
Human rights protection.
Political union.
Common foreign and defence policy.
What are the 4 freedoms?
Movement of:
Goods
Capital
Services
People
How has the EU helped social unity?
The Maastricht treaty established EU workers rights.
What is the Maastricht treaty?
The treaty that created the EU. It was signed on the 7th of February, 1992.
How has the EU helped protect human rights?
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (2000)
What is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (2000)?
A charter that enshrines into primary EU law a wide array of fundamental rights enjoyed by EU citizens and residents.
How has the EU helped political unity?
They restrict nation states exercising the veto.
Benefits of the EU for the UK.
Duty-free access to the world’s second biggest economy.
The economy benefited from EU immigration through the increased workforce and taxes.
3 million jobs relied on trade with the EU.
Due to the movement of goods, entrepreneurs could set up business anywhere.
Disadvantages of the EU for the UK.
It challenged sovereignty.
The EU has been accused of having a democratic deficit.
EU legislation introduced an unnecessary layer of law.
The UK contributed much more than we got back.
How in the government campaigned to remain in the EU referendum?
Prime minister
Cabinet
Labour
Lib-Dem
Which groups campaigned to remain in the EU for economic benefits?
Confederation for British Industry (CBI).
Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Bank of England.
Which voting categories voted to leave the EU for increased sovereignty?
C2
D
E
EU referendum result.
48% remain
52% leave
How has Brexit impacted the UK positively?
Full restoration of parliamentary sovereignty.
The 4 freedoms no longer apply so there is no external sovereignty on the UK.
The UK can negotiate its own trade deals.
Border control.
Allowed the executive to significantly increase its authority.
How has Brexit impacted the UK negatively?
Potential territory disputes with EU members.
It raised significant constitutional complications.
It highly publicised clashes between the supreme court and the executive.
IT has significantly undermined the integrity of the UK.
Sunak’s quote over the UK’s increased border control post Brexit.
‘have proper control over our borders’
An example of supreme court and executive Brexit calshes.
The first Gina Miller case.
How did each nation vote for Brexit?
England - Leave : 53.4%
Wales - Leave : 52.5%
Scotland - Remain : 62%
Northern Ireland - Remain : 55.8%
What is legal sovereignty?
The absolute right of Parliament to enact any legislation it chooses without being overruled by another body.
What is political sovereignty?
Sovereignty exercised by the public which is reclaimed every general election.
How have referendum moved sovereignty?
They have created a precedent that referendums should be called to determine the opinion of the public on constitutional questions since Blair’s government. Whilst results aren’t legally binding, it is constitutionally improbable to ignore the results.
Where have referendums transferred sovereignty to?
From representatives to the public.
How has devolution moved sovereignty?
Scottish and Welsh governments can claim popular legitimacy and can only be abolished through referendums there.
How has devolution not moved sovereignty?
Westminster only gave certain domestic powers, not sovereign powers and can reclaim these.
An example of Westminster reclaiming devolved powers.
In Northern Ireland, 2002 - 2007
How has royal prerogative impacted sovereignty?
It is exercised by the PM meaning that some areas of Parliament aren’t sovereign.
How has the supreme court impacted sovereignty?
They ensure that the government doesn’t act beyond its authority through determining is they have acted in the law in judicial review. However since we have an uncodified constitution, parliament can legislate to give government new powers.
How has the 1998 HRA impacted sovereignty?
It protects civil liberties but it is not codified and can be overuled.
How has globalisation impacted sovereignty?
International organisations and economic globalisation have restricted UK sovereignty.
How has the EU impacted sovereignty?
As a member, we had to pool sovereignty and accept the supremacy of European law. However, Brexit showed that parliament always retains its sovereign right to legislate to restore full parliamentary sovereignty.
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