Page 239 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes • The Constitution is silent on the issues of number, qualifications, salaries, emoluments and
period or service of the judges of the Supreme Court. It empowers the Congress to cover these
matters by legisiation. As a result, the Supreme Court came into being in 1789 according to a
law made by the Congress with a Chief Justice and six associate Judges. The number of associate
judges was increased to 9.
• It is a fact that the Constitution does not specifically empower the courts in this regard, but the
power has been wielded by virtue of ‘reading into the fundamental law of the land’ by the
judges of the Supreme Court. It is true to say that the power of judicial review in the hands of
the judges has come by prescription.
• The federal judiciary of the United States can make use of this power in regard to ‘federal
questions’ and thus exercise this prerogative even in cases of executive orders and legislative
measures issued by the State governments.
• The judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are known as Justices of the Supreme
Court, and they are also Privy Counsellors. Justices of the Supreme Court are granted the courtesy
title Lord or Lady for life.
• The Supreme Court is headed by the President and Deputy President of the Supreme Court and
is composed of a further ten Justices of the Supreme Court.
• The Justices do not wear any gowns or wigs in court, but on ceremonial occasions they wear
black damask gowns with gold lace without a wig.
• The Supreme Court embraces the Court of Appeal and the High Court which has both appellate
and first instance jurisdiction. The High Court has inherent jurisdiction to control the activities
of inferior courts and of the executive. This inherent jurisdiction can be abrogated by statute. By
statute appeals from the Crown Court arising from trials on indictment go to the Court of
Appeal. Appeals on other matters go to a Divisional Court of the High Court.
• The Crown Court is the Court where serious criminal cases (eg. murder, manslaughter, rape
and other serious crimes) are tried by a Judge and Jury. There is only one Crown Court, but it
sits in about 90 locations around England and Wales of which the most famous is the Central
Criminal Court (or “Old Bailey”).
• The civil jurisdiction of Magistrates’ Courts is concerned with matters such as licensing of pubs,
restaurants and shops, and family matters such as maintenance orders for children. Appeals go
to a Divisional Court.
• With a very few exceptions all criminal prosecutions commence in the Magistrates’ Court.
Magistrates have limited powers of sentencing. If either prosecutor or defendant is aggrieved
by the decision of a magistrates’ court on a question of law, the court can be asked to “state a
case” for the opinion of the High Court. A defendant aggrieved by a conviction may also ask for
the case to be reheard in the Crown Court.
• “The new Russian Constitution adopted in December, 1993 shifts the balance of power decisively
in the direction of the executive branch. The structure embodied in the new Constitution
resembles the French presidential system in many ways, but some critics in Russia call it an
authoritarian Constitution, because it places so many powers in the President’s hands.
• The Constitution places executive power in the government of Russia, which is headed by the
Prime Minister. The structure envisages conflict between the President and the legislative branch,
because the President’s party or supporters do not necessarily hold the balance of power in the
Parliament.”
• “The judicial functions are distinct and will always remain separate from the administrative
functions; judges shall not, without exceeding their powers, interfere in any way whatsoever
with the operation of the administrative bodies, nor summon administrators before them by
reason of their functions. The proper application of this principle requires, on the one hand,
that the administration must have the means to resist encroachment by the judicial courts and,

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