the judiciary intro

establishment of the judiciary

• before 2009 the highest court of appeal in the UK comprised the 12 Law Lords who sat in the Appellate Committee in the Lords

• the creation of a new UK supreme court was one of many measures set out in the CRA 2005 (Constitutional Reform Act)

• they were responding to a number of concerns regarding long-standing concerns over the Law Lords and their role

function of the judiciary

• under CRA the new UK supreme court took on the roles previously performed by the Law Lords:

  • act as the final court of appeal for England Wales and NI (criminal+civil)

  • hear appeals on issues of public importance surrounding arguable points of law

  • hear appeals from civil cases

• the creation of this new supreme court in the UK benefits from a new independent appointments process and are accommodated in a new building

• this shows that they have addressed criticisms, traditionally levelled at the Lords, not least by providing for a greater separation of powers

administration of justice in the UK

secretary of state for justice -

• Shabana Mahmood

• has oversight of all ministry of justice business. her specific responsibilities include:

  • judicial policy including pay, pensions and diversity

  • corporate services

• she receives a salary as lord chancellor an is unpaid as secretary of state for justice

home secretary -

• Yvette Cooper

• home secretary has overall responsibility for all home office business including:

  • security and terrorism

  • legislative programme

  • expenditure issues

lord chief justice -

• he lord chief justice is the head of the judiciary of england and wales

• they are also the president of the courts of england and wales and responsible for representing the views of the judiciary to parliament and the government

political role of the judiciary

• dispensing justice - ensuring the law is applied fairly and equally to all citizens

• interpreting the meaning of the law where there’s conflict

• creating case law

• declaring common law

• judicial review - the principle that citizens can appeal against the government to assert their rights

• public inquires into matters of widespread public concern

• external jurisdiction - constraints by legal systems of the EU and devolved powers

• sentencing issues - deciding the punishments that are appropriate and proportional to the crime