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relationships between branches - Coggle Diagram
relationships between branches
roles of the supreme court
judicial review
checking laws of government against the Human Rights Act 1998
Gillan and Quinton v UK [2011] demanded change be made to the Terrorism Act [2000] as detaining someone without suspicion of terrorism was a violation of the Human Rights Act [1998]
checking government actions against the UK constitution
powers of the supreme court
interpret and apply the law
hold proceedings over all areas of law
'make' law through interpretation - becomes common law
chair inquiries
alter the decisions of lower courts
review the actions of government officials
rule a minister 'ultra vires' - 'beyond powers'
Theresa May was ruled 'ultra vires' after carrying out immigration policy without it being passed through parliament first
HM Treasury v Ahmed and others original ruling was 'ultra vires'
original jurisdiction
judicial independence
defined as the judiciary's freedom from external bias, in practise this means keeping the courts separate from the legislature and the executive and their influence
example of judicial independence
in the case of Abu Qatada, terrorist who claimed asylum on the defence that he would be tortured if he were to be deported to Jordan, the court stayed strong in their opinion that he shouldn't be deported despite criticism from then Home secretary Theresa May
a judge described May's approach as 'not sensible'
example of judicial independence not being upheld
R v Grillo and Grillo [2013] was compromised by the then PM David Cameron stated he was 'team Nigella' and that he thought she was a 'warm and funny person' - the jury were told to ignore his comments
judicial neutrality
defined as the Judiciary's freedom from internal bias, in practise means judges shouldn't let political sympathies influence their rulings
shouldn't campaign or publicly support political groups or parties
judges should keep their views private
in private affairs, like voting, they can act as free citizens
example of Judicial neutrality
R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex Parte Pinochet - Lord Hoffman stepped down from judging on a case on Pinochet's extradition as he and his wife had ties with the human rights pressure group amnesty international
the Human Rights Act [1998]
Schedule 2 of the act enshrines the European Convention on Human rights in UK law
why controversial?
due to its unamendable nature it is partially entrenched, some argue this 'binds' parliament
there's more of a mandate to remove the act than maybe there was initially to pass it into law
it (did) allow citizens to seek judicial review from European courts
civil liberties
until 1998 rights in the UK were negative
a citizen could do anything that didn't break the law
meant that rights were completely subjective to changes in the law
since 1998 and the passing of the HRA rights are positive
outlined in a semi-entrenched piece of legislation, means rights aren't subject to changes in the law or government
examples of positive rights and civil liberties being protected
Belmarsh case 2004 - ruled that non-UK nationals cannot be detained indefinitely without trial, ruled to be incompatible with the ECHR
Afghan Hijackers case 2006 - law lords allowed a group of hijackers political asylum from Afghanistan as they would be persecuted violated the HRA and the ECHR
what defends civil liberties?
Human Rights Act
UK Judiciary
European Convention on human rights
European courts
attempts to limit civil liberties
2006 Identity cards act
passed but never implemented due to public opinions
2006 terrorism act (90 day detention)
blocked by the house of lords and then removed by the government as a priority
Brexit and civil liberties
removal of 'supreme' protections of the EU; ECHR, Europeans courts and judicial review etc
devolution
priority for New Labour governments from 1997 onwards
key motivations for devolution
localism
population imbalance means Westminster can't prioritise some regions
to placate an independence movements
powers of devolved assemblies
education
infrastructure
healthcare
Scotland can levy tax +/-1%
'West Lothian' question
in the absence of a devolved english assembly Scottish MPs can vote for something that only affects England but this can't occur the other way round
a solution is EVEL - English votes for English laws - a convention where only English MPs can vote on laws that only affect England
another solution is a devolved English assembly
The EU
four aims of the EU
to establish European citizenship
to ensure freedom, security and justice
to promote economic and social progress
to assert Europe's role in the world
powers of the EU
The European parliament can make laws in areas such as international trade, agriculture, worker's rights and immigration
European court of justice interprets these laws
protecting laws through the European court of Human Rights