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英国议会上院兼有司法职能,是国家的最高上诉法院。作为英国法院层级体系的顶点,上院的判决约束所有的下级法院,并成为英国本土法中最重要的先例,具有司法导向作用。在日趋多元与复杂的社会中,上院常常要衡量不同的价值或利益,在国家安全与公民权利、司法公正与新闻自由等发生冲突时作出仲裁。英国加入欧共体后,上院的司法职能在得到加强的同时也面临诸多挑战。上院的司法职能可能会被拟议中的最高法院所取代。
The upper house of parliament has both judicial functions and is the country’s supreme court of appeal. As the culmination of the hierarchy of the British courts, the Upper House’s judgments bound all lower courts and became the most important precedent in British domestic law and served as a judicial guide. In an increasingly pluralistic and complex society, the superior often weighs different values or interests and arbitrates in the event of a conflict between national security and civil rights, justice and freedom of the press. After Britain joins the European Community, the judicial function of the upper house has been challenged while it is being strengthened. The judicial function of the upper house may be replaced by the proposed Supreme Court.