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government > 1.1 The nature and sources of the UK Constitution > Flashcards

1.1 The nature and sources of the UK Constitution Flashcards

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1
Q

define constitution

A

a constitution determines where power is located within a nation state and the rules by which it is governed. it also establishes the intent of the government’s authority and the rights that its citizens possess

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2
Q

why is the Uk constitution ‘special’?

A
  • developed every differently to the constitutions of other nation states
  • this is because the UK (since the invasion of 1066) has not had a single event which has fundamentally changed the key ways in which a country is governed (e.g French revolution, war of independence)
  • instead the UK has gradually changed over time in response to major events; it has had an evolutionary development
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3
Q

what was Anglo- Saxon England like

A

anglo saxons introduced 3 ideas: the witan, the principle of trial by jury, and habeas corpus. the witan was a council that advised the king on taxation and military matters, the principle of jury by peers says any novel accused of crime has a right to a fair trial by his peers, and habeas corpus meant that a prisoner had the right to appeal unfair/ illegal detention

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4
Q

what was the Magna Carta?

A

due to king John being an ineffective king, funding wars in France and abusing royal power, the barons revolted against him, forcing John to sign the Magna Carta which limited his powers and acknowledge the rights the lords had to be respected

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5
Q

what is the significance of the Magna Carta?

A
  • the king does not have absolute power there are limits
  • the first part of the constitution is made
  • king has to consult parliament, he can’t raise taxes
  • the right to trial by jury was guaranteed
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6
Q

what was the English civil war?

A
  • the king declared war on parliament in 1642, this tension and eventual war was caused by King Charles I who believe he had divine right to run the country as he pleased and parliament believed he had to listen to their grievances and consult them
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7
Q

what is significant about the English civil war?

A
  • the English civil was was won by parliament
  • parliament put King Charles I on trial as a traitor and ruled he was guilty and should be executed
  • England was then rules as a republic under Oliver Cromwell but lasted till 1658 when he died, and parliament elected to restore the monarchy with limited rights
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8
Q

what was the glorious revolution and the bill of rights?

A

-MPs replaced James II with William of orange- they had to sign the declaration of rights ( which later became the bill of rights)

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9
Q

what is significant about the glorious revolution?

A
  • the first time the government replaced a king with one of their choosing
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10
Q

what is significant about the bill of rights?

A
  • removed royal interference in elections
  • placed limits on the use of royal prerogative
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11
Q

what is the Act of settlement 1701

A
  • anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, became disqualified to inherit the throne
  • settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants
  • when George I became King it was the result of the Act of Parliament not through the divine right of kings
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12
Q

what is significant about the Act of settlement

A
  • the monarch was now of parliaments choosing, rather than ruling through divine right
  • they restricted the monarchs ability ti interfere with laws
  • the monarch could not be Catholic or married to one
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13
Q

what is the act of union 1707?

A
  • accepted jurisdiction over Scotland and Scottish representation in parliament
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14
Q

what is significant about the act of union 1707?

A
  • the act of union dissolved the Scottish parliament and, when the first united parliament met in Westminster on 1st may 1707, the new country of great britain was formally recognised by statue
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15
Q

what is significant about the act of union 1800?

A
  • on 2nd July 1800 Westminster passed the union with Ireland act, meaning the introduction of 32 Irish peers to the House of Lords and 100 new Irish MPs
  • these acts created the new united kingdom
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16
Q

what is the act of parliament’s 1911 and 1949

A
  • the House of Lords could reject any laws/ bills they didn’t want even if it had support in the House of Commons before the parliament acts
  • to prevent the lords from ever again rejecting a proposal that had popular support in the democratically elected house of common so the acts of parliament were passed
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17
Q

what is significant about the acts of parliament 1911 and 1949?

A
  • 1911= gave the commons exclusive powers over money bills, allowed the lords to delay a bill for 2 years only, reduced the duration of parliament from 7 years to 5
    -1949= allowed the lords to delay a bill for 1 year only
  • the 2 parliament acts marked the formal shift in power from the lords to the House of Commons
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18
Q

what is significant about the representation of the people act 1918?

A
  • this meant all men ages over 21 and women aged 35 could vote
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19
Q

what is significant about the representation of the people act 1928?

A
  • all men and women aged over 21 could vote (universal suffrage)
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20
Q

what is the European communities act?

A
  • it was the energy of the Uk into the European economic community
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21
Q

what is significant about Uk joining the European communities act

A
  • allowed the uk to join the EEC, coal land and steel community and the atomic energy community
  • the act also allowed EEC law to become part of domestic law in the UK, with immediate affect
  • The act also stated that no UK law could conflict with European law
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22
Q

what are AV Dicey’s ‘twin pillars’?

A

the uk constitution is based on:
1. parliament being the supreme law making body
2. government must be according to the rule of law

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23
Q

what are the pros of the constitution being unentrenched?

A
  • constitution can change/ evolve with society
  • doesn’t need a big event/ pressure build up to enact change
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24
Q

what are the drawbacks of the constitution being unentrenched?

A
  • it can be easily changed= poor decisions may me made
  • lots of change as governments can simply pass acts= this may lead to instability
  • in the uk, rights of citizens are not protected by the constitution in the same way they are in the USA
25
Q

what are the pros of having an uncodified constitution?

A
  • flexibility= dont have to amend one big document
26
Q

what are the drawbacks of having an uncodified constitution?

A
  • harder to hold policy makers to account as there’s not one single document to compare to
27
Q

define evolutionary development

A
  • a gradual change over time with no single huge break from the past
28
Q

define unitary

A
  • a state where power is centralised and the central government has absolute authority
29
Q

define federal

A

a state where power is shared and dispersed, the power of the central government is limited by powers of lower levels of government, over which the central government has no authority (like in the USA)

30
Q

define parliamentary sovereignty

A

parliament is the supreme legislative body, it can pass any legislation for which it has a parliamentary majority, as there is not authority greater than parliament which can veto this

31
Q

define statue laws?

A

statue laws are acts of parliament that have the effect of establishing constitutional principles. they are the highest legal authority in the UK, taking priority over any other sources of the UK constitution

32
Q

give some examples of statue laws

A
  • the human rights act 1998
  • the parliament act 1949 which established limitations to the powers of the HOL
  • the Scotland and Wales act of 1998 which devolved powers to those countries
33
Q

what is the strength of statue laws?

A
  • hard to change
  • hard to ignore
34
Q

what is the weaknesses of statue laws?

A
  • hard to change if there is a mistake (hard to reform in a modern context)
  • unentrenched= can take it away easily
  • can be changed by any government= so not long lasting
35
Q

what Is common law?

A
  • it refers to the development of laws through historical usage and tradition
  • refers to the judgement made by judges in important legal cases, sometimes referred to as ‘judge made laws’
36
Q

give examples of common law cases

A
  • Enrick v Carrington (1765)= the executive cannot infringe the civil liberties of its citizens without legal jurisdiction
  • R v R (1991)= any non consensual activity is rape
37
Q

advantages of common law

A
  • allows easy constitutional changes to be improved
  • flexible, based on society at the time
38
Q

what are the weaknesses of common law

A
  • sometimes they may not be appropriate to a modern context
  • subjective to each judge, in the hands of one man
  • relies on people setting presidents
39
Q

what are conventions

A

a convention is a unwritten rule that is considered binding on all members of the political community, such conventions could be challenged in law but have so much moral force that they are rarely, if ever, disputed

40
Q

give examples of conventions

A
  • Salisbury convention= it is a convention that the HOL will not block any legislation that appeared in the governing parties most recent election manifesto
41
Q

what are the strengths of conventions?

A
  • conventions can shift if outdated
  • laws can override conventions as they’re not legally binding
42
Q

what are the weaknesses of conventions?

A
  • relies on goodwill and tradition so can easily be broken
  • easy to ignore
  • relies on integrity
43
Q

define landmark decisions

A

like conventions, some historical events are so momentous that they contribute towards the constitution

44
Q

give an example of a landmark decision

A

bill of rights (1689) asserted the subordination of the crown to parliament

45
Q

define authoritative works

A
  • much of the uk constitution is based on key historical principle that have become effectively binding because they have been established over a long period of time
46
Q

give an example of authoritative works?

A

Erksine May’s parliamentary practices written in 1844

47
Q

what are the strengths of authoritative works

A
  • widely accepted, people are used to it as its been around for so long
  • updated often so up to date
  • written by experts
48
Q

what are the drawbacks of authoritative works

A
  • outdated and old, doesn’t allow change, modern Society dictated by 1800’s texts
  • if they’re not updated, it may be outdated
  • not legally binding
49
Q

define treaties

A
  • the uk constitution is also comprised of international treaties and agreements that become binding on UK politics
50
Q

give an example of treaties

A

European convention on human rights, which was signed by the British government in 1956

51
Q

why should the constitution not be codified

A
  • the constitution makers government stronger and more effective
  • the uk constitutions flexibility means it can stay relevant
  • uncodified systems can evolved and release built up public pressure
  • the nation of the constitution means the UK government can take strong and decisive action
52
Q

reasons why the constitution should be codified

A
  • uncodified systems are less effective at protecting rights
  • arguably, the UK constitution leads to ‘elective dictatorship’
  • there is nothing forcing the government to respect individual freedoms
53
Q

in an entrenched constitution, what do constitutional reforms have to ensure?

A
  • that there is widespread popular support for reforms
  • that it is in the long term interests of the country
54
Q

why is it not possible to entrench constitutional laws in the UK?

A
  • the sovereignty of parliament asserts that each individual parliament cannot be bound by its predecessors, nor can it bind its successors. this means, that in effect, every new parliament is able to amend the constitution as it wishes
55
Q

is there any difference between reforming statue law and constitutional law in the UK

A
  • all parliament has to do to reform the constitution is to pass a new parliamentary statue, using the same procedure as for any other statue, there is no ‘higher stand’ for constitutional laws
56
Q

what is the fixed parliament act 2011?

A
  • it stayed that each parliament should sit for a fixed time of 5 years before the next election, rather than the convention that the PM could name that date for the next general election.
  • however it is not possible to entrench laws in the UK meaning a future parliament could appeal/ amend the act
57
Q

what is the significance of referendums of constitutional issues

A
  • despite the inability to entrench constitutional laws in the UK, it is becoming common practice to hold a referendum when constitutional change is proposed e.g for devolution in 1997
  • when a referendum has produced a ‘no’ result, a constitutional change cannot realistically take place
  • the effect of such referendums is to entrench constitutional developments, it is inconceivable that the changes would be reversed without another referendum to approve such a reversal
  • thus, the UK is moving gradually towards a system if entrenchment through referendums
58
Q

what happened int he factor tame case 1991?

A
  • it was a judicial review case taken against the UK government by a company of Spanish fisherman who claimed that the UK had breached EU law by requiring ships to have a majority of British owners if they were to be regulated in the UK
59
Q

what did the factortame case reveal about the constitution?

A
  • it was the first time that courts held that they had power to restrain the application of an act of parliament pending trial and ultimately to misapply that act when it was found contrary to EU law
  • essentially EU laws has supremacy/ sovereignty over UK law

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