UK Supreme court

What does the SC protect?

rule of law

what is judge made law?

when senior judges resolve cases when acts of parliaments need to be interpreted and sets precedent for subsequent cases

when was the SC created and why?

constitutional reform act 2005 but established 2009, before law lords sat in HoL and breached separations of powers, SC created so UK could have court of appeal completely separated from Parliament

Aims of the SC

to be neutral and transparent

main duties and responsibilities

highest court of appeal for civil cases in UK + most criminal cases, judicial review to check the govt has acted lawfully, authority to determine whether issues ought to be under jurisdiction of govt or devolved body

who decides members of SC?

lord president of SC, 5 person selection committee and representatives of judicial appointments commission

Caste study - Miller 2019

Johnson prorogued parliament for 5 weeks, president of SC said he acted unlawfully as it stopped parliament from performing its constitutional duties - example of SC protecting constitution

Case study - Miller 2016

SC ruled that executive cannot trigger article 50 without parliamentary approval due to parliamentary sovereignty, media called them ‘enemies of the people’ as they were going against the referendum results

membership of SC

all white, only two women, majority Oxbridge educated, around 60/70 years old

judicial independence

free from political control and can apply justice properly without fear of consequences

ways the SC is neutral

rulings must be made on basis of law, peer review, judges not allowed to be affiliated with any political group, judges must declare conflict of interest, highly trained + experiences and at least 5 judges must hear every case, govt does not train or appoint judges

sub judice

MPs or Lords can not talk about current or impending court cases, prevents them from possibly impacting an outcome of a case

criticisms the SC is not neutral

lack of diversity, politicised, govts retains some political influence over appointment of judges (Lord Chancellor oversees appointments of new judges and can reject one candidate)

example of a case law?

Regina v Jogee, Jogee sentenced to life through ‘joint enterprise law’ - all involved in murder get convicted even if did not deliver fatal blow, SC said law was wrongly applied and his sentence was reduced to manslaughter - set a precedent

when is a judicial review conducted?

when the executive has not dealt equally with different citizens, where there has been a clear injustice, when govt or public body acts ultra vires

example of judicial review

HM treasury v Ahmed - 3 brothers under investigation for suspected links to terrorist organisation, monetary assets frozen but none of them charged under anti-terrorism legislation, SC ruled govt acted ultra vires - 2010 new law passed allowing freezing of assets for suspected terrorists

what is the main piece of legislation that the SC protects?

HRA

what does the SC rule when the law goes against the HRA?

declaration of incompatibility

what is ultra vires?

when govt or public body acts beyond their power

criticisms of judicial review

critics argue many cases are weak and clog up the judicial system wasting money

reasons why the SC is weak

can only interpret law, cannot strike down an act of parl or force parl to take action, parliamentary soveriegnty

case example of govt going around SC ruling

Rwanda act, SC declared that to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful as it was deemed dangerous so breaks international law, govt passed Safety of Rwanda act declaring Rwanda a safe country allowing them to go forward with their plan

Case study - Gina Miller 2019

ruled Johnson’s proroguing of parliament was unlawful as it stopped parliament from fulfilling their constitutional functions - established sovereignty and ruled Johnson as acting ultra vires

Belmarsh case 2004

foreign nationals suspected of having terrorist links detained indefinitely without trial as govt declared them a threat to national security - SC ruled it was in defiance of the HRA

security of tenure

judge remains in post until retirement, meaning they cannot be punished for their rulings ensuring judicial independence

successful review cases during Johnson govt

2020-21 dropped from more than 50% to 2.2%