The formation of the Supreme Court in the UK is a great step towards the realisation of constitutional reforms in the land. This is best explained by the fact that the opening such a court marks the ultimate separation of the judiciary from the interferences of both the parliament and the executive arms of the government. It is however to be noted that the new court could still be inferior to parliaments decisions.
This essay gives a critical assessment on the impact of introducing the new British Supreme Court and its constitutional implications. The author also gives an analysis to ascertain whether or not the new Supreme Court will be more powerful than the House of Lords committee it replaces.
First is a discussion on the constitutional implication of the new Supreme Court. The new British Supreme Court has far-reaching constitutional implications. The first and foremost implication is that the Supreme Court will evidently enhance the independence of the judiciary. It should be noted here that this new court will have independence from the political arm of the government. Still to be realised is the fact the new judicial system will give individual judges independence of making rulings (Rozenberg, 2009). This is unlike the previous system in which ruling was mainly a summary of the reasoning and similar arguments of the different judges involved in the panel.
It is also to be understood that such a new court, with its independence will mitigate the practice of electing judges to share inquires. This could be a milestone towards realizing independence in their rulings by mitigating political influences on the outcome of both the inquiries and the final court ruling. It is therefore rightly argued that such could reduce the public perception of the courts as major political players in our republic. With the matching of the courts proceedings and rulings with the accountability standards provided by the Court and the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, it is clear that the courts will improve transparency in the legal justice system.
Thirdly, the formation of the British Supreme Court is seen as the first step towards the realisation of a written constitution in the nation. To be stated here is the fact that the current government in its operation relies on an unwritten constitution mainly guided by statutes and parliamentary convections as well as standing court judgments. It is however just and fair that for the operation of the independent judiciary should be guided by well laid down principles to increase its effectiveness and accountability in administering justice to the citizens (The Guardian, 2009). This requirement could thus mandate for the finding of a written constitution in our nation. It has been claimed that the dissolving of the House of Lords who formed the unelected upper chamber of the UK parliament could lead to formation of a new democratic chamber with periodic elections for its members.
This will mark a great constitutional reform towards the modernisation of the nations democracy. The question of power devolution could also remain another constitutional reform that will be forced by the institutionalisation of the new British Supreme Court. Independence of the judiciary can only be best achieved with the putting in place of clear distinctions separating the different arms of the government (Clarkson, 2009). It is therefore clear that the functioning of the supreme courts will mandate for the changing of the constitution to reflective the aspect of power devolution.
It is clear that most of the governing members of the UK government are in office by acts of endorsement based on religion. However, it should be noted that the formation of the new British supreme courts was based on the need to separate the government leadership and laws from religion. This move means that the constitution will have to be changed to accommodate this fact. Such changes of the constitution will entail that political offices bearers should be democratically elected thus resolving the problem of discriminative selection of the members of the house of the commons in the nation (Rozenberg, 2009). Still to be noted is that this will give the otherwise highly qualified but with weaker religious strengths an equal opportunity in sharing the decision making panels of our nation.
It has also been a common claim that the Supreme Court will have the long term effectives of instilling democratic representation and accountability in the parliament, ensure a more equitable distribution of power across the different arms of the government and oversee the written constitution for United Kingdom democracy (The Guardian, 2009). All these factors will have the end result of improving the overall functioning of the government to match other developed democracies of the globe.
Second is an argument that the Supreme Court will be more powerful than the House of Lords committee it replaces. With its increased independence from political influence, the process of executing justice by the new courts will be greatly improved. It is here to be noted that unlike the rulings of the House of Lords which were marked with many separate but similar summaries of the cases by the different judges involved. The Supreme Court on the other side gives the individual judges the independence of making a conclusive final ruling on a case. It is also to be noted that failure to individual ruling could be remedied by ruling on a major vote by the participating judges (Clarkson, 2009). Still to be noted is the fact that with a written constitution, the Supreme Court will enjoy the institutional advantage of interpreting law for application in the law courts thus making it or subject to hearing cases which are way above the provisions of the constitution.
In conclusion, it has been clearly established that the new Supreme Court will greatly improve the democratic space in UK by its cause for constitutional reforms. The court will also evidently be more powerful than the House of Lords particularly on its influence of the execution of justice.
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