[Passed 6-0: March 10th, 2017]
WHEREAS, Section VII.1 of the Charter of Scone invests supreme appellate authority to the Court of His Majesty, the King in Parliament.
WHEREAS, Section 6.A of the Judicial Proceedings Act 2016 authorizes a joint sitting of Parliament to create procedures relating to the exercise of its judicial functions when the Lords and Burgesses of the Kingdom sit jointly through resolution.
WHEREAS, the Judicial Proceedings Act 2016 specifies that such a resolution may be amended by further resolution, as deemed necessary by Parliament.
WHEREAS, the Parliament of the Kingdom of Scone has yet to pass such a resolution.
WHEREAS, such a resolution is necessary to ensure neutrality and consistent application of judicial procedures.
Now therefore, be it RESOLVED, that this Parliament adopts the procedures affixed in the schedule hereto for this and all subsequent Parliaments which shall come into effect immediately after its passage by this Parliament.
Schedule:
1. Procedures for the Court of His Majesty the King in Parliament:
I. Composition
a. The Court of His Majesty the King in Parliament shall consist of all peers who have been appointed to the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm by His Majesty in Council
b. The Lord Chancellor shall preside over the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm, regardless of whether or not he is formally appointed to that body.
c. A member of the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm may not be removed from that role unless they resign, no longer have His Majesty’s pleasure, or are removed by a vote of Parliament or His Majesty in Council. A member of the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm may not be removed while a matter is pending before the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm.
d. The Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm shall only meet while Parliament is sitting, and shall be understood to be a part of Parliament itself.
e. In the event the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm shall be entirely depopulated of eligible members to hear a case, the Lord Chancellor may hear the case alone. If the Lord Chancellor is unable to hear the case, the case shall be transferred to the Court of Lord High Steward.
II. Activation
a. The Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm shall be summoned whenever it receives a matter through either its original or appellate jurisdiction as outlined by Sconnish Law.
b. After receiving such a petition, the Lord Chancellor or his designee shall examine the petition to determine if it is in order to be heard by the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm. If the Lord Chancellor determines that the matter should be heard, the matter shall be placed before Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm for its review.
c. The Lord Chancellor shall then determine which members of the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm shall hear the case. The Lord Chancellor shall designate no fewer than 1 and no more than 5 Peers to consider the matter, and shall ensure that the whole number of peers is an odd one. The Lord Chancellor shall ensure that no one sits on the case who has previously heard the matter, or who has an overriding bias in considering the matter which would prevent them from fairly considering the matter.
d. Upon selection, those peers shall constitute the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm authorized to hear the matter pending before the Court and this composition may not be changed. The Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm is then automatically considered to have gone into session apart from the joint session of Parliament.
e. No resolution shall be required to allow the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm to begin their work, nor to finish it. The members of the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm shall be fully able to participate in the joint session of Parliament while tending to their duties in the House of Peers.
f. Only the prorogation or dissolution of Parliament shall prematurely end a sitting of the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm, at which point the matter shall be transferred to the Court of Lord High Steward for a review de novo.
III. Other Procedures
a. In all other procedures, the Judicial Committee of the Peers of the Realm shall follow the procedures outlined in Section 9.G of the Judicial Proceedings Act 2016.
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