Judiciary

Role:

• Role of all judges is to apply the law as parliament stated in an independent manner
• Must be free from influence to uphold the rule of law
• Preside over dispites, both civil and criminal
• In criminal, the jury will decide the issue of guilt and the judge will pass the sentence
• In civil, the judge will decide liability of the defendant and the amount of compensation
• Judge will also preside over judicial review
• Supreme court is the highest court in the domestic structure and the final appeal court in England and Wales
• The impact of the Supreme Court decisions can be huge e.g. landmark ruling of R v R (1991) which created the law on marital ****
• The court is currently made up of 12 justices of the Supreme Court which includes only one women Lade Hale

Basic rules of the constitution:

• A constitution is a set of rules which state the country's system of government, allocating power between the main institutions of the state- government, Parliament and the judiciary
• Britain has a unique unwritten constitution which is comprised of three basic principles; the seperation of powers, the Soverignty of Parliament and the Rule of Law

Parliamentary Sovereignty:

• Parliament is the supreme law maker
• The courts cannot question Parliament
• Professor Blackstone ''What Parliament doth, no authority on earth can undo''

Seperation of powers:

• In order to avoid abuse of powers, the three organs of state must be kept seperate
• Legislature (Parliament)
• Executive (Government)
• Judiciary (Judges)

The Rule of Law:

• A.V Dicey
• No one is above the law
• All are equal above the law

The Constitution Reform Act (2005):

• This historic act finally secured a complete seperation between the senior judiciary and Parliament
• Change to the role of the Lord Chancellor:
• a role that had existed for more than 1,400 years
• It was seen to be in conflict with the seperation of powers because the LC was involved in all three organs of state
• She no longer sits as a judge or acts as the head of the judiciary
• Doesn't play a direct role in the judicial appointments process
• Elizabeth Truss was appointed recently by Theresa May as the first female LC
• Creation of the Supreme Court:
• This new court replaced the House of Lords to achieve complete seperation between the judiciary and Parliament
• Creation of the Judicial Appointments Commission:
• Huge shift from the old secretive and controversial system via 'secret soundings'
• New body selects candidates to recommend for judicial appointment to the Lord Chancellor
• This now ensures we use a modern and fair process to appoint judges

The Judicial Appointments Commission:

• The system of judicial appoinements has been radically reformed under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
• Previous system was highly controversial and secret
• Lord Chancellor would take 'secret soundings' by privately asking existing judges about the suitability of existing lawyers to be judges
• Process was known as the 'old boys' network
• Very difficult for anyone who didnt fit the traditional stereotype of white, male, upper class and educated at Oxbridge…