BRIEF ID:304290 Explain and comment on the ...

BRIEF ID:304290
Explain and comment on the various roles of the United Kingdom House of Lords, the French Constitutional Council and the United States Supreme Court in carrying out constitutional review
United Kingdom House of Lords

The House of Lords is the highest appeal court on civil and criminal matters. All other English Courts are bound by the House of Lords. In some circumstances pertaining of European Law the House of Lords refers some cases to the European Court of Justice. The judicial functions of the House of Lords are scheduled to be transferred to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 under the Constitutional reform Act 2005.
Constitutional Law is shaped by common law and therefore the decisions of the judges that make the decisions. In light of the above it is necessary to look at the doctrine of stare decisis and the role of the House of Lords.
The House of Lords attitude towards the doctrine of stare decisis has changed throughout the years. Traditionally the House of Lords was bound by its own decisions but after the practice statement of Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords is no longer bound by previous decisions.
The House of Lords plays a key role in the development of constitutional law as their decisions will be effective until such time as the House of Lords overturn its own decision or the decision is consolidated by a statute.
The House of Lords rarely overrules previous decisions but in the case of RvRs the House of Lords overturned the legal principle that stood for centuries and ruled that rape within marriage is a Crime.
The manner in which the House of Lords shapes the constitutional process can be found in the following cases according to Molan:
For example, the case of Etnick v Carrington (1765)19St Tr1030 determined that general search warrants were illegal; in M v Home Office [1993] 3 WLR 433 the House of Lords considered the circumstances under which a minister could be held to have acted in contempt of court in his official capacity; and in Council of Civil Service Unions v Minister for the Civil Service[1985] AC 374 the House of Lords determined the circumstances in which an exercise of prerogative power would be reviewable by the courts.
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the USA and its nine members are appointed for life by the President with the consent of the senate. The United States Supreme Court, the most famous of constitutional courts, early in its history established the right to judge if the bills passed by the Congress or State Legislatures are unconstitutional.
Its first important verdict in Marbury v. Madison, 1803, established the principle of judicial review. The verdict placed a rubberstamp on the right of the Supreme Court to rule that an act of Congress is unconstitutional. It was also during this period that the Supreme Court established itself as the highest Court of Appeal ...