Judiciary
Interpret law
Do not make law, only apply the law
Often drawn into wider, non-judicial activities that overlap with the functions
of other branches
The Role of Judges
What Judges do:
Preside over court and tribunal proceedings:
o Make sure court procedures are properly followed
o Ensure a ‘fair’ trial
o Source of specialist knowledge, advise juries and direct a verdict
Interpret and apply the law:
o Exercise a measure of discretion in the way they interpret
o Can lead to conflicting interpretations by judges and by ministers
‘Make’ law:
o laws mean what judges say they mean
o effectively determine the nature of common law
Common law: long-standing customs and traditions
o Build up on the basis of judicial precedent
o Judges in one case will accept judgements in earlier similar cases as
binding, known as ‘case law’.
- Collection of decisions made by judges
Decide sentencing in criminal cases:
o Traditionally free to decide the sentence
o Reduced in recent years due to wider use of mandatory sentences
Mandatory sentences: sentences laid down in a legislation
o Allow politicians to encroach on the role of judiciary
Chair public inquiries and commissions:
o Reputation of being independent and impartial
o Run like court proceedings, quasi-judicial
o Close contact with ministers and senior officials, which may
compromise their independence and give them a pro got bias
o Example: Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations that British service
personnel had murdered and ill-treated detainees in Iraq in 2004 (2014)
Interpret law
Do not make law, only apply the law
Often drawn into wider, non-judicial activities that overlap with the functions
of other branches
The Role of Judges
What Judges do:
Preside over court and tribunal proceedings:
o Make sure court procedures are properly followed
o Ensure a ‘fair’ trial
o Source of specialist knowledge, advise juries and direct a verdict
Interpret and apply the law:
o Exercise a measure of discretion in the way they interpret
o Can lead to conflicting interpretations by judges and by ministers
‘Make’ law:
o laws mean what judges say they mean
o effectively determine the nature of common law
Common law: long-standing customs and traditions
o Build up on the basis of judicial precedent
o Judges in one case will accept judgements in earlier similar cases as
binding, known as ‘case law’.
- Collection of decisions made by judges
Decide sentencing in criminal cases:
o Traditionally free to decide the sentence
o Reduced in recent years due to wider use of mandatory sentences
Mandatory sentences: sentences laid down in a legislation
o Allow politicians to encroach on the role of judiciary
Chair public inquiries and commissions:
o Reputation of being independent and impartial
o Run like court proceedings, quasi-judicial
o Close contact with ministers and senior officials, which may
compromise their independence and give them a pro got bias
o Example: Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations that British service
personnel had murdered and ill-treated detainees in Iraq in 2004 (2014)
