1.1 the nature and sources of the UK Constitution

Question 1

Where was power concentrated in the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

power was concentrated in the hands of the monarch

Question 2

What was Parliament made up of in the 13th century?

Answer 2

• an upper house, made up of hereditary aristocracy and senior members of the church (the house of lords)
• an elected House of Commons, consisted of representatives of the landed gentry and prosperous merchants

Question 3

What is the rule of law?

Answer 3

the idea that no body, including the government, should be above the law

Question 4

When was the Magna Carta?

Answer 4

1215

Question 5

What was the Magna Carta?

Answer 5

agreement between King John and the barons, who rebelled against the abuse of royal power

Question 6

What was the Magna Carta as a development of constitution?

Answer 6

stated that the principle that no one should be deprived of liberty or property without due process of law

Question 7

When was the Bill of Rights?

Answer 7

1689

Question 8

What was the Bill of Rights?

Answer 8

passed by parliament in reaction to the arbitrary rule of King James II
his successors William II and Mary II affirmed the rights of parliament when they accepted the throne

Question 9

What was the Bill of Rights as a development of constitution?

Answer 9

included provisions for regular parliaments, free elections, freedom of speech within parliament

Question 10

When was the Act of Settlement?

Answer 10

1701

Question 11

What was the Act of Settlement?

Answer 11

motivated by a desire to exclude James II and his heirs from the throne
their adherence to the Catholic religion was widely associated with tyrannical rule

Question 12

What was the Act of Settlement as a development of constitution?

Answer 12

act established the right of parliament to determine the line of succession to the throne

Question 13

When was the Acts of Union?

Answer 13

1707

Question 14

What was the Acts of Union?

Answer 14

United England and Scotland
Both countries were now placed under one parliament based in Westminster

Question 15

What was the Acts of Union as a development of constitution?

Answer 15

the basis of the UK until Tony Blair’s New Labour government passed legislation to set up a Scottish Parliament in 1997

Question 16

When were the Parliaments Acts?

Answer 16

1911, 1949

Question 17

What was the Parliaments Acts?

Answer 17

reduced the power of the HoL to interfere with the agenda of the HoC
1911 act was provoked by the action of the Lords in rejecting the radical tax-raising ‘peoples budget’

Question 18

What was the Parliaments Acts as a development of constitution?

Answer 18

1911 act affirmed that the Lords could not delay money bills, for financial bills, the power of veto was replaced with a two-year delaying power
1949 act reduced this delaying period to one year

Question 19

When was the European Communities Act?

Answer 19

1972

Question 20

What was the European Communities Act?

Answer 20

passed by the conservative government
act took Britain into the European Economic Community = EU

Question 21

What was the European Acts as a development of constitution?

Answer 21

established the principle that EU law would take precedence over UK law where a conflict occurred

Question 22

What are the three features of the UK constitution?

Answer 22

1 - uncodified
2 - unentrenched
3 - unitary

Question 23

What are the two key principles of the UK constitution to A.V. Dicey in 1885?

Answer 23

• parliamentary sovereignty
• the rule of law

Question 24

How is ‘parliament can bind its successor’ part of parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 24

parliament has the right to amend or repeal acts passed by previous parliaments
e.g. 2003 parliament repealed section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act, which had made it illegal for local authorities and schools intentionally to promote homosexuality

Question 25

How is ‘legislation passed by parliament cannot be struck down by a higher body’ part of parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 25

The UK’s Supreme Court can interpret but not overturn an act of parliament e.g. The Supreme Court has ruled the Rwanda policy as unlawful but parliament is still going through with it

Question 26

How is ‘parliament can make a law on any subject’ part of parliamentary sovereignty?

Answer 26

• the major social changes of the mid-1960s (legalising abortion and homosexuality, making divorce easier to access and abolishing the death penalty) depended on the passing of acts of parliament

Question 27

What factors are under the rule of law?

Answer 27

• everyone is entitled to a fair trial and no one should be imprisoned without due legal process
• all citizens must obey the law and are equal under it
• public officials are not above the law and they can be held to account by the courts
• the judiciary must be independent of political interference

Question 28

What did A.V. Dicey argue about rule of law?

Answer 28

this was the main way in which rights and liberties of citizens are protected, respect for the rule of law is important because it acts as a check on parliamentary sovereignty

Question 29

What is Statute law?

Answer 29

laws passed by parliament

Question 30

What is an example of Statute law?

Answer 30

The 1998 Scotland Act, Government of Wales Act and Northern Ireland Act created devolved legislative bodies, which were given some powers previously held by Westminster

Question 31

What is Common law?

Answer 31

laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear

Question 32

What is an example of Common law?

Answer 32

• the presumption that a person is accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty
• the medieval concept of habeas corpus is a common-law protection against unlawful imprisonment - converted into a statute in 1679

Question 33

What are Conventions?

Answer 33

traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system

Question 34

What is an example of a convention?

Answer 34

The principle, established since the 2003 Iraq War and subsequent parliamentary votes, that except in an emergency, the government will not order military action without prior parliamentary approval

Question 35

What are authoritative works?

Answer 35

works written by experts describing how a political system is run, which are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides

Question 36

What is an example of an authoritative work?

Answer 36

Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice, first published in 1844 and regularly updated, explains the rules of parliamentary life

Question 37

What is are treaties?

Answer 37

formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by parliament

Question 38

What is an example of a treaty?

Answer 38

Maastricht (1992), which transformed the European Community into the European Union