UNIT 4

The British Judiciary

Separation of powers in the

British context

- UK constitution (not written down in one document) weak

separation of powers, rather partial fusion of powers

Principle of Parliamentary sovereignty
- Parliament cannot be controlled by judiciary
The Monarch - a formal role in the fusion of the various arms of state
a) a part of the Parliament summons and dissolves it, gives Royal Assent to all

Bills so that they become Acts;

b) appoints all Government ministers; they govern in the name of the Crown
c) appoints all senior judges; all public prosecutions are brought in his or her name

The Prime Minister

a) By convention must be a member of the Government; can be removed from office by a
simple majority vote of Parliament
b) a member of the House of Commons

The Judiciary

no judicial independence until the establishment of the

Supreme Court of the UK in 2009

Before the Constitutional Reform

Act 2005
The House of Lords
the second chamber of the legislature
- the highest court of appeal in the UK (Judicial Committee)

Lord Chancellor (appointed by the Sovereign

on the advice of the Prime Minister)
- Minister of Justice (member of the Government) appoints
new judges
- A senior judge and Head of Judiciary -presides over the
Judicial Committee of the House of Lords
- a member of the Parliament Speaker of the House of Lords
contrary to the principle of judicial independence and the separation
of powers

Law Lords (Lords of Appeal in Ordinary)

members of the House of Lords; - judges of the Appellate Committee as the
highest court in England and Wales- the final arbiters of judicial disputes in
the UK

Towards greater separation

the Constitutional Reform Act
2005
a set of reforms aimed at increasing the transparency of the
system and clarifying the relationship between the three arms of
the state -

came into force on 3 April 2006

A) Reforming the role of Lord Chancellor
B) A new Supreme Court
C) Reform of the system for judicial
appointments

judges now truly independent - judicial independence is now

officially enshrined in law

changed dramatically the Lord Chancellors role - removed the

judicial functions from the office of the Lord Chancellor

the real differences - the way judges are appointed and the way
complaints are dealt with

After the Constitutional Reform

Act 2005
A) The Lord Chancellor
-

Minister of Justice (member of the Cabinet)

Member of the Parliament

no longer the Speaker of the House of Lords

no longer appoints judges

judicial functions transferred to the President of the Courts of

England and Wales (the Lord Chief Justice of England and
Wales)

B) The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

- head of the judiciary of England and Wales - responsible for the
training, guidance and deployment of judges and represents
the views of the judiciary of England and Wales to Parliament
and ministers

After the Constitutional

Reform Act 2005
C) Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
-

established in October 2009

replaced the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords

independent, separate from the House of Lords and with its

own independent appointments system, staff, budget and,
its own building

Law Lords in office became Justices of the Supreme Court

and lost their right to speak and vote in the House of Lords
until their retirement as Justices of the new court

D) Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC)

-

responsible for selecting candidates to recommend for

judicial appointment to the Secretary of State for Justice
(MERIT remains the sole criterion for appointment)

The Judiciary Types of

I Superior judges
judges
Justices of the Supreme Court sit in the Supreme Court
Lords Justices of Appeal sit in the Court of Appeal
High Court judges sit in the three divisions of the High Court
Puisne judges sit in the High Court

II Inferior judges
Circuit judges sit in both the Crown Court and the County Court

(barristers of at least ten years standing)

Recorders part-time judges sitting usually in the Crown Court

(barristers of at least ten years standing)

District judges legally trained and paid judges of the Magistrates

Courts (previously known as stipendiary magistrates; barristers of at

least 7-years standing)
Justices of the Peace JPs lay magistrates of the Magistrates Courts

(without legal training and unpaid)

The British Judiciary

Reading comprehension
I Read part I of the text (6 paragraphs).
Which powers did the Lord Chancellor exercise before the
Constitutional Reform Act 2005?
Why was it important to change the role of the Lord Chancellor?
Which Commission was set up in 2006 and which responsibilities did
it take over?
In what way has the role of the Lord Chancellor changed?
Who is the new head of Judiciary and the President of Courts of
England and Wales?

II Read part II of the text.

Why is the establishment of the Supreme Court so important?
What are the different types of judges in English and Welsh courts
and what is the criterion for their appointment?

The British Judiciary

Reading comprehension
III Read part III.
What do judges have to abstain from?
What is the social background of most English
judges?
IV Discuss a career in the judiciary in England and
Wales and compare it with the one in Croatia.

Judicial appointments after CRA

2005
Judicial Appointments Commission
-

appointments are made solely on merit - the Commission is entirely

responsible for assessing the merit

no candidate can be appointed unless recommended by the Commission

the Commission must consult with the Lord Chief Justice and another judge of
equivalent experience before recommending a candidate for appointment

The Lord Chancellor can a) confirm a candidate, b) reject once or c) ask the
Commission to reconsider; has limited powers in relation to recommendation
for appointment

The Lord Chancellor approves the final selection and then the candidate is
formally appointed by

a) the Lord Chancellor; b) the Queen (appoints the more senior judges)

Supreme Court Judges selected by the Supreme Court selection

commission; selection reported to the Lord Chancellor (he can reject or ask
the commission to reconsider if the person not the best candidate on merit)

Essential terms
-

judicial power = sudbena vlast

judiciary = sudstvo, suci

a civil servant = dravni slubenik

to hear a case = suditi

judicial independence = sudaka neovisnost

to appoint = imenovati

to carry out = provoditi

to remove from office =

razrijeiti dunosti

to preside over = predsjedavati

judicial appointments =
imenovanja sudaca

puisne judges; circuit judges;

recorders;

a term of office = mandat

stipendiary magistrates = suci niih

kaznenih sudova (magisteates
courts)

to have the security of tenure =

imati sigurno namjetenje

justices of the peace (JPs) = mirovni

suci, suci laici niih kaznenih sudova

to be drawn from the Bar = biti

imenovan iz redova viih
odvjetnika (barristera)

the Bar = odvjetniki stale

the Bench = sudaki stale

inability or misbehaviour =
nesposobnost ili loe vladanje

the Cabinet = Vlada

to sit as a judge = obavljati dunost

suca

Vocabulary practice
I Complete the following definitions.
1. ____________ ______________ are public administrative officials

in Great Britain.
2. ____________ ______________ are judges of the High court

appointed among barristers of at least ten years standing.

3. The chief ministers of the British government are referred to

as __________________________ .
4. ____________ ______________ is the first minister of State in

Great Britain and the official head of the Cabinet.

5. __________________ is a member of the legal profession whose

main function is to argue cases in court.

6. __________________ is the officer whose duty is to preside over

the debates of one of the Houses of Parliament.

7. __________________________ is the head of the British judiciary.

Vocabulary practice

Court

personnel
II Complete the following text choosing from the words below.
jury - judges recorders - clerk barristers prosecutor magistrates bench
The largest group of ________________ are ___________________, ordinary
citizens who are not legal professionals but are appointed to ensure that the local
community is involved in the running of the legal system. They sit in a group of
three (as a _____________). Magistrates sit with a legally qualified
______________ , who can advise on points of law. A case is presented by the
________________ , who takes over the case from the police who have already
charged the defendant (or accused) with specified crimes.
In the upper courts, the judges are almost all former ______________ . But many
cases are also heard by ________________ - part-time barristers from private
practice. The Crown Court _______________ consists of 12 persons, aged 18 to 70.