What does the judiciary have to do with human rights?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how the judiciary can be seen to work both for and against human rights.
Key learning points
- There is a clear relationship between the judiciary and human rights.
- The judiciary strengthen human rights through equality before the law, fair, public trials and appropriate sentencing.
- They also allow citizens to defend their rights through the civil courts.
- The judiciary has been accused of failing rights, e.g. Rwanda policy, Belmarsh dentention case, Tony Nicklinson case.
Keywords
Judiciary - the branch of the state that is responsible for enforcing the law; it is composed of judges and other legal officials
Human rights - basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to
Court - a formal legal institution where disputes are heard and resolved, and where justice is administered according to the law
Common misconception
The judiciary always protects and strengthens human rights, no matter what.
The judiciary plays a key role in defending rights, but it does not always act quickly or strongly enough. Judges often follow the law as it is written, and sometimes they decide that Parliament, not the courts, should make the final decision.
Teacher tip
There are media interviews and newspaper reports still available online regarding the Tony Nicklinson case, which could be explored in more detail in relation to the final court decision.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of serious crime
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Depiction or discussion of serious crime
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.The branch of the state that is responsible for enforcing the law and is composed of judges and other legal officials is known as what?
Q2.Which is the correct ending to the following sentence? Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that ...
Q3.What is the generic name of the formal legal institution where disputes are heard and resolved, and where justice is administered according to the law?
Q4.Which of the cases below would be heard via civil law, not criminal law?
Q5.Match the case to the most likely court that would hear the case in its entirety.
civil court
magistrate court
crown court
Q6.Judges, magistrates and justices of the peace do what?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these best describes the right to legal remedy?
Q2.Who decides whether a case should go to court, based on evidence?
Q3.What type of law can judges create?
Q4.In 2019, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made a civil case against the newspaper, the Mail on Sunday, due to which of her rights being violated?
Q5.Which deportation policy was viewed by many as being a violation of human rights?
Q6.Tony Nicklinson argued in his 2012 court case that being denied the right to assisted dying went against his right to what?
To help you plan your 11 citizenship lesson on: What does the judiciary have to do with human rights?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 citizenship lesson on: What does the judiciary have to do with human rights?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 citizenship lessons from the Synopticity: How do different ideas and concepts in Citizenship interconnect? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.