The Judicial System of Britain and the Supreme Court - Essay Example

BRITISH GOVERNMENT al Affiliation) British Prime Minister The British Prime Minister has traditionally been associated asMinister of the civil service and first lord of the treasury. Moreover, in the past the Prime Minister usually conducted the roles of Chancellor of Exchequer, Foreign secretary among other posts. However, in the contemporary times the office holder no longer assumes charge over any department in government. In the British cabinet manual, the Prime Minister is described as head of government, chair of the cabinet and chief adviser to the Sovereign. To this end, the office holder of Prime Minister is charged with several responsibilities. Foremost, pertains to the appointment and dismissal of ministers (King,1985).During the course of tenure, the Prime Minister is legally mandated to dismiss, appoint or receive any resignation from cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister is also responsible for managing the cabinet committee system as well as the allocation of roles between departments and ministers. To this end, the Prime Minister coordinates and oversees the policies and activities of governmental departments and Cabinet. The Prime Minister is equally charged with the overall organization of the executive. In addition, the Prime Minister assumes the functions of Commander in Chief but is not formally recognized as one since it is legally attached to the monarch. Evidently, the Prime Minister is entitled to dismiss as well as appoint senior military officers. The Prime Minister can also declare war and authorize the usage of nuclear deterrent in Britain. The introduction of legislature also constitutes the Prime Ministers functions in parliament. Consequently, the Prime Minister can develop, co-ordinate, introduce and amend legislature in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is equally entitled to advise and provide recommendations for senior honors to the Queen. This refers to knighthoods and peerages. Furthermore, the Prime Minister is mandated with terminating the government and calling for a general election. British Cabinet The British cabinet is constituted by an average of 20 ministers (BBC). Moreover, they are appointed by the Prime Minister and are times inclusive of non-departmental and departmental ministers. The functions of cabinet are dully influenced by the majority number of party representatives within the House of Commons. Moreover, there are senior members within the cabinet and these include the Deputy Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary (Daalder, 1963).It is also critical to note that cabinet performs its function through the Privy Council. The British Cabinet is entitled to various cabinet functions. Chief among this includes the role of approving formal policy (Jones & Kavanagh, 1994). Although the debating and formulation of policy occurs in parliament, it is the duty of the cabinet to approve before it becomes formal government policy. The members of cabinet are also responsible for defending all government policies in the parliament. This duty is referred to as collective responsibility. The cabinet is equally charged with policy coordination. This involves conducting administration of all government departments. It also involves ensuring that all ministers are aware of the happenings in their own departments and other ministerial departments. Moreover, the cabinet is charged with reconciling the ministerial responsibilities within individual departments and with the government in general. Ultimately, the cabinet aids the individual departments to highly rank the senior parts of government together. Dispute resolution is equally another function of the British cabinet (Norton, & Wood 1993). To this end, irreconcilable disputes that pertain to departmental and ministerial differences are resolved at cabinet level. The cabinet also acts as forum for debate for the ministers. Evidently, the members of the cabinet as well as the Prime Minister gather together and voice their opinion on pertinent issues and stimulate discussion. The cabinet ministers are also held responsible pertaining to any problems that may arise within their departments. British Parliament In the legal mandarins of Britain, the parliament is composed of the Crown, House of Lords and House of Commons. Evidently, the Crown carries out the ceremonial function as head of state. On the other hand, the legislative process is more active within the House of Lords and House of Commons. To this end, the House of Commons, also known as the lower house, holds more power within parliament. It is composed of 659 members of parliament that are elected all over the 659 constituencies in the United Kingdom. The House of Commons carries out several vital functions. Chief among these includes representation of constituents in parliament. It is the primary duty of members of parliament to represent their constituents interest in parliament upon election. Furthermore, the MP’s are entitled to represent other interest groups such as trade unions and professional groups. The British house of Commons also acts as a platform in which potential ministers can practice and perfect the political skills. On the other hand, the serving ministers face the task of breaking of making their careers based on their performance evaluation in the Commons dispatch box. The House of Commons is also charged with providing scrutiny to the executive. To this end, it plays a significant role in scrutinizing and critiquing government policies and actions. This is evident during parliamentary question sessions; debates as well as influential inter party select committees. In addition, the House of Commons is responsible for providing legitimacy for government actions and policies. To this end, while acting on behalf of the citizenry, the House of Commons can either withhold, grant or approve government actions, money grants and legislation (Young, 1962). The House of Lords has much weaker functions. Evidently, it can initiate controversial legislation by revising and refining them. To this end, it performs the extended function of scrutiny and legislation. In addition, the House of Lords performs judicial functions in which it is the highest court of appeal. British Judiciary The British Judiciary play a pertinent role within the parliamentary government. the judicial system of Britain consists of Crown courts, Magistrate courts,court of Appeal and the Supreme court (Judicial System in England). Evidently the Crown courts dran their jurisdiction is from the Crowns’ Power. To this end, the Crown courts are charged with hearing very serious appeals and cases that are passed on from the magistrates’ courts. Moreover, the appeals are passed on to the High Court or Queen;s division bench or to the Court of Appeals’ criminal division. The court of Appeal is composed of judges also reffered to as Lord Justices of Appeal as well as ex officio four judges (Masterman, 2011). These include the Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice, and Vice Chancellor of the Chancery Division and the president of the Family Division of the High Court. The Supreme court is the next court for redress from the court of appeal. However, this referral is based on whether the court of appeal approves that a point of law generating public importance is necessary. To this end, the Supreme Court is overseen by a President as well as eleven justices. Moreover, civil cases are normally presided by magistrate courts while cases of pertinent importance are passed on to the High court. To this end, the High court consists of three divisions. These are, the Queen’s bencg, Chancery division and family division. The appeals arising from magistrates courts are normally passed on to the divisional courts within the High courts. Moreover, any cases advanced against public officials and ministers are usually addressed in the Queen’s bench division. Tribunals have also been set up within the British judicial system. The tribunals are charged with adjudicating disputes that arise from decisions and actions by public bodies, which affect the citizens. The primary advantage tribunals are the avoidance of clogging up of cases in the ordinary courts. Moreover, they offer the double convenience in cheapness, speed as well as informality compared to other courts. References Judicial System in England. (n.d.).Distance Learning | Virtual University of Pakistan | Vu Assignments Solutions | Vu Old Exam Help. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from http://www.vuhelp.net/llb/11072-judicial-system-england.html BBC. (n.d.). BBC NEWS | Programmes | BBC Parliament | Role and Significance of Parliament. BBC News - Home. Retrieved March 11, 2013, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2561809.stm Bogdanor, V. (2003). The British constitution in the twentieth century. Oxford [England: Published for the British Academy by Oxford University Press. Daalder, H. (1963). Cabinet reform in Britain, 1914-1963. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. Jones, B., & Kavanagh, D. (1994). British politics today (5th ed.). Manchester: Manchester University Press. King, A. S. (1985). The British Prime Minister (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. Masterman, R. (2011). The separation of powers in the contemporary constitution: judicial competence and independence in the United Kingdom. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Norton, P., & Wood, D. M. (1993). Back from Westminster British members of Parliament and their constituents. S.l.: University Press of Kentucky. Watts, D. (2007). A glossary of UK government and politics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Young, R. (1962). The British Parliament. Evanston [Ill.: Northwestern University Press. Read More