Constitutional Reform Since 1997 and Debates on Further Reform

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• identifies that before 2005 the Law Lords sat as the final court of appeal within the House of Lords itself, blurring the judiciary and the legislature.2 marks
• explains that the Act created a physically and institutionally separate Supreme Court, which began hearing cases in 2009.2 marks
• explains that the Act created the Judicial Appointments Commission, reducing the Lord Chancellor's personal control over judicial appointments.2 marks
• explains that the Act reformed the office of Lord Chancellor, ending the practice of one person heading the judiciary while also sitting in Cabinet and the legislature.2 marks
• an evaluative point on the limits of this change, e.g. the Supreme Court still cannot strike down an Act of Parliament, so parliamentary sovereignty was not fundamentally altered.2 marks

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• Excellent, detailed and accurate knowledge of reforms across the judiciary, Parliament and the executive. Sustained, well-structured analysis and evaluation using specific, named evidence on both sides, reaching a fully substantiated overall judgement.4 marks
• Accurate, mostly detailed knowledge. Good analysis and evaluation with named evidence on both sides, reaching a supported judgement, though development may be slightly uneven across the three paragraphs.4 marks
• Generally accurate knowledge with some detail. Some analysis and an attempt at a two-sided argument, but at least one paragraph is one-sided or relies on generic rather than named evidence, capping the level.4 marks
• Limited, mostly accurate knowledge. The answer is largely descriptive rather than analytical, with little genuine counter-argument or judgement in any paragraph.4 marks
• Basic, undeveloped knowledge with little relevant, accurate detail; no clear argument structure or judgement.4 marks
• No creditable content.4 marks
• the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created the Supreme Court (2009) and the Judicial Appointments Commission, ending Law Lords' presence in the legislature; the Human Rights Act 1998 gave courts a real role reviewing legislation for compatibility with rights, shown in cases such as A and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2004), where the House of Lords declared indefinite detention without trial incompatible with the HRA.3 marks
• devolution (Scotland Act 1998, Government of Wales Act 1998, Northern Ireland Act 1998) created entirely new, directly elected legislatures with primary law-making power that did not exist before 1999, arguably a bigger structural change than reform of the courts; the House of Lords Act 1999 changed the composition of one half of the legislature for the first time in centuries; the repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act in 2022 shows the core executive-legislature relationship still being actively reformed.3 marks

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