The discussion about the creation of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom: the constitutional aspects

It is mentioned that the creation of the Supreme Court means that the most senior judges are now entirely separate from the Parliamentary process. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 made provision for the creation of a new Supreme Court for the United Kingdom. There had, in recent years, been mounting calls for the creation of a new free-standing Supreme Court separating the highest appeal court from the second house of Parliament, and removing the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary from the legislature. On 12 June 2003 the Government announced its intention to do so. Before the Supreme Court was created, the 12 most senior judges – the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, or Law Lords as they were often called – sat in the House of Lords. The House of Lords was the highest court in the land – the supreme court of appeal. It acted as the final court on points of law for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases. Its decisions bound all courts below. As members of the House of Lords, the judges not only heard cases, but were also able to become involved in debating and the subsequent enactment of Government legislation (although, in practice, they rarely did so). The creation of a new Supreme Court means that the most senior judges are now entirely separate from the Parliamentary process. It is important to be aware that the new Supreme Court is a United Kingdom body, legally separate from the England and Wales courts as it is also the Supreme Court of both Scotland and Northern Ireland. As such, it falls outside of the remit of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales in his role as head of the judiciary of England and Wales. The new Supreme Court opened for business in October 2009, at the start of the legal year. Because of the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the Supreme Court is much more limited in its powers of judicial review than the constitutional or supreme courts of some other countries. It cannot overturn any primary legislation made by Parliament. However, it can overturn secondary legislation if, for example, that legislation is found to be ultra vires of the powers in primary legislation allowing it to be made. Further, under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998, the Supreme Court, like some other courts in the United Kingdom, may make a declaration of incompatibility, indicating that it believes that the legislation subject to the declaration is incompatible with one of the rights in the European Convention on Human Rights. Such a declaration can apply to primary or secondary legislation. The legislation is not overturned by the declaration, and neither Parliament nor the government is required to agree with any such declaration. However, if they do accept a declaration, ministers can exercise powers under section 10 of the act to amend the legislation by statutory instrument to remove the incompatibility, or ask Parliament to amend the legislation.Розглядається досвід Великої Британії по створенню Верховного Суду. Особлива увага приділяється дискусії, що розпочалася у британській політико-правовій спільноті після прийняття Акта про конституційну реформу 2005 р. і аж до фактичного початку діяльності Суду наприкінці 2009 р. Робиться висновок, що цей судовий орган є значно слабшим, аніж верховні суди інших англосаксонських країн, зокрема США, оскільки Верховний Суд Сполученого Королівства не має права визнавати акти британського парламенту нечинними.Рассматривается опыт Великобритании по созданию Верховного Суда. Особое внимание уделено дискуссии, которая велась в британской политико-правовой общности после принятия Акта о конституционной реформе 2005 г. и вплоть до фактического начала деятельности Суда в конце 2009 г. Делается вывод о том, что этот судебный орган значительно слабее, чем верховные суды других англосаксонских стран, в частности США, поскольку Верховный Суд Соединенного Королевства не имеет права признавать акты британского парламента недействительными