The Judiciary and the Supreme Court

What The Judiciary and the Supreme Court covers

The Judiciary and the Supreme Court is examined in AS Unit 1, Government in Wales and the United Kingdom — sovereignty, power and accountability. It covers the constitutional role of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the creation of the Court, the Supreme Court as the highest court of appeal, the separation of powers in the UK, judicial independence, judicial neutrality and the appointment of judges, judicial review and the doctrine of ultra vires, supreme Court rulings on constitutional matters and A separate legal jurisdiction for Wales.

The 9 subtopics

Each one has its own page. WJEC AS Government and Politics students sit this topic in the first year.

• The constitutional role of the Supreme CourtConstitutional role of the UK Supreme Court, supreme Court's role in interpreting statute and justiciability of a question.Open →
• The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and the creation of the CourtRecall questions on why the Law Lords were replaced, the remaking of the Lord Chancellor's office, how judges are now selected, and what the reform deliberately did not do.Open →
• The Supreme Court as the highest court of appealLeapfrog appeal, dissenting judgment and difference between an appeal and a judicial review.Open →
• The separation of powers in the UKDoctrine of the separation of powers, checks and balances and argument that a fusion of powers makes government more effective.Open →
• Judicial independenceJudicial independence, security of tenure and difference between independence and accountability for a judge.Open →
• Judicial neutrality and the appointment of judgesJudicial neutrality and statutory eligibility requirement for appointment to the Supreme Court.Open →
• Judicial review and the doctrine of ultra viresJudicial review, ultra vires and wednesbury unreasonableness.Open →
• Supreme Court rulings on constitutional mattersRecall questions on the two Brexit-era judgments, the fees and detention cases, references on Welsh and Scottish legislation, and the pattern they show between courts and government.Open →
• A separate legal jurisdiction for WalesLegal jurisdiction, present jurisdictional position of Wales and distinct jurisdiction, as distinguished from a separate one.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take The Judiciary and the Supreme Court further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Illegality vs Irrationality

  Illegality: a public body acting outside the powers conferred on it. Irrationality: it means reaching a conclusion no reasonable body could have reached.

• Substantive ultra vires vs Procedural ultra vires

  Substantive ultra vires: doing something there was no power to do. Procedural ultra vires: it means doing something without following a required process.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is the constitutional role of the UK Supreme Court?

   Model answer

   It is the final court of appeal for the United Kingdom and the court that authoritatively settles questions about the meaning of the law and the limits of public power.

2. 2

   Why is the Supreme Court not a constitutional court in the sense familiar in the United States?

   Model answer

   It cannot strike down an Act of Parliament, because parliamentary sovereignty makes statute the highest law.

3. 3

   What can the Supreme Court do when a statute conflicts with Convention rights?

   Model answer

   It may issue a declaration of incompatibility, which draws the conflict to Parliament's attention but leaves the statute in force.

4. 4

   How does the Supreme Court police the boundaries of devolution?

   Model answer

   It hears references and appeals on whether a devolved legislature or government has acted within the competence its founding statute confers.

5. 5

   Who may refer a devolved bill to the Supreme Court before it becomes law?

   Model answer

   The relevant law officers, such as the Attorney General or the Counsel General for Wales, may refer a bill to test whether it is within competence.

6. 6

   Explain the Supreme Court's role in interpreting statute.

   Model answer

   Where the words of an Act are unclear or contested, the Court's reading of them binds every other court and settles what the law means in practice.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

The Judiciary and the Supreme Court revision questions

Is The Judiciary and the Supreme Court examined at AS in WJEC Government and Politics?

Yes. It sits in AS Unit 1, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does The Judiciary and the Supreme Court cover in WJEC AS-Level Government and Politics?

9 subtopics: the constitutional role of the supreme court, the constitutional reform act 2005 and the creation of the court, the supreme court as the highest court of appeal, the separation of powers in the uk, judicial independence, judicial neutrality and the appointment of judges, judicial review and the doctrine of ultra vires, supreme court rulings on constitutional matters and a separate legal jurisdiction for wales. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is The Judiciary and the Supreme Court organised?

By the WJEC 603-1979-3 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.