3.1.1.4 The judiciary Quiz: AQA Politics, Unit 1

The 20 questions

1. Which court became the UK's highest court of appeal in 2009, replacing the Law Lords?

   • The High Court of Justice
   • The Court of Appeal of England and Wales
   • The European Court of Human Rights
   • The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

2. What does judicial independence mean?

   • Judges are appointed by the PM and serve on the cabinet as ministers of justice
   • Judges make decisions free from pressure from the government, Parliament
   • Judges are elected by the public to represent the views of their own region
   • Judges can make laws whenever Parliament has failed to legislate on an issue

3. What does ultra vires mean in the context of government action?

   • Acting in accordance with a convention that has been formally written into statute
   • Acting with the unanimous support of the cabinet on a matter of national importance
   • Acting under the authority of a royal prerogative exercised by the monarch in person
   • Acting beyond the legal powers granted to a public body or minister

4. What is judicial review?

   • The power of the Commons to review judges' salaries and set their pensions each year
   • The power of the House of Lords to examine every new law passed by the Commons
   • The power of the monarch to approve the judgments of the Supreme Court before they take effect
   • The power of courts to examine whether the actions of public bodies are lawful

5. Which principle does the separation of powers involve in the UK judiciary context?

   • Judges are elected by the same process as MPs and can sit in the Commons
   • Judges are appointed by the monarch to represent the government in court
   • Judges are kept separate from the legislature
   • Judges make all government policy in the cabinet while also hearing appeals

6. Which body now plays a central role in the appointment of judges in England and Wales?

   • The Cabinet Office, which selects judges on the advice of the monarch
   • The European Parliament, which approves every UK judicial appointment
   • The House of Commons Justice Committee, which votes on all appointments
   • The Judicial Appointments Commission

7. Which statement about the composition of the UK judiciary is most accurate?

   • Judges are chosen by ballot of the public, so the judiciary reflects the electorate
   • Judges are drawn from elected politicians who have served in the Commons for ten years
   • Judges are appointed from among the members of the House of Lords who have retired
   • Judges are drawn mainly from legal practice

8. How does the Supreme Court influence government and legislation?

   • By electing the Prime Minister when a general election leaves no clear majority
   • By drafting bills for the Commons before the government introduces them to the House
   • By approving the monarch's speech at the opening of each parliamentary session
   • By interpreting statute and common law, and ruling on whether public bodies have acted lawfully

9. Which phrase best describes the effect of judicial influence on the policy process?

   • Court rulings have no effect because the executive can always ignore their conclusions
   • Court rulings can be overridden only by a national referendum called by the Supreme Court
   • Court rulings can change policy and force governments to revise their decisions
   • Court rulings are binding only on the monarch and not on ministers or public bodies

10. Why is the principle of ultra vires important for judicial review?

    • It gives courts a basis to strike down decisions that go beyond the powers granted
    • It means that all government decisions are automatically valid unless Parliament objects
    • It allows the Supreme Court to create new statutes if Parliament has failed to act
    • It requires the monarch to approve every judgment before it can be delivered in court

11. A court finds that a minister acted without the statutory power to make a regulation. Which conclusion is most accurate?

    • The regulation is valid because the minister is a member of the cabinet
    • The regulation is ultra vires and may be quashed by the court
    • The regulation can be enforced until the House of Lords chooses to review it
    • The regulation is valid only if the monarch personally signs it after the judgment

12. Which statement best evaluates the impact of the Supreme Court on the legislature?

    • It can override every decision of Parliament by issuing a binding direction to MPs
    • It can repeal any Act of Parliament that it considers unfair or undemocratic
    • It can interpret legislation and declare certain matters incompatible with rights, but Parliament keeps the final legislative power
    • It can create new statutes and then ask Parliament to approve them at a later date

13. Which argument best supports the view that judges have become more powerful over policy making?

    • Judges have no role in policy because only elected representatives can take decisions on policy
    • Judges can only comment on policy after the monarch has approved their views in writing
    • Judges have lost all power since the Supreme Court was created in 2009 and now defer to the cabinet
    • Judicial review and rights-based litigation mean courts increasingly decide on issues that were once settled politically

14. Which argument best supports the view that judicial power is limited?

    • Courts are restricted to hearing criminal cases and cannot review public bodies
    • Courts cannot hear cases involving the government at any point in their history
    • Courts cannot strike down primary legislation
    • Courts can only decide cases after the monarch has personally approved the hearing

15. Which statement about judicial independence and impartiality is most accurate?

    • Impartiality requires judges to consult the cabinet before reaching any judgment
    • Impartiality requires judges to decide cases on the law and the facts, without bias
    • Impartiality requires judges to support the policies of the party in government
    • Impartiality requires judges to vote in the Commons on all matters of national importance

16. What is the significance of the Supreme Court in the separation of judicial and legislative functions?

    • It approves the budget of the government before it is presented to Parliament each year
    • It hears appeals on points of law, which separates the highest judicial role
    • It drafts all bills before they are introduced to the House of Commons for debate
    • It is the body that elects the Speaker of the House of Commons at the start of each session

17. Which evaluation best supports the claim that judicial appointment processes matter for judicial independence?

    • A transparent, merit-based appointment process can reduce suspicion that judges are chosen
    • Appointment processes matter only in criminal cases, and not in civil or constitutional cases
    • Appointment processes matter only if the judges are elected by the public in a national vote
    • Appointment processes do not matter because judges are independent once appointed by the monarch

18. Which claim about the courts' interaction with government is most accurate?

    • Courts can review government action, but the government must then resign immediately
    • Courts can review government action only if the government invites them to do so
    • Courts can review government action through judicial review, but governments can respond
    • Courts can never review government action because the executive controls all legal proceedings

19. A PM argues that the courts should not interfere with a policy decision. Which response best reflects the constitutional position in the specification?

    • Courts may review whether the policy is lawful, but they do not decide its merits as a matter of political choice
    • Courts must stop any review of policy because it is a matter for the monarch alone
    • Courts must hear the case only if the Commons votes to refer the matter to them
    • Courts must approve every policy decision that the PM proposes before it takes effect

20. Which example best illustrates the importance of the Supreme Court's role for the policy process?

    • A ruling that a government's approach to a public body's powers was unlawful, which changes how the policy is implemented
    • A ruling that every bill must be passed by the House of Lords before any vote in the Commons
    • A ruling that the monarch must approve every policy before it becomes public knowledge
    • A ruling that all public bodies are permanently exempt from judicial scrutiny in future

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