1.1.2 sources of the UK constitution Flashcards
statute law
momentous acts of parliament.
scotland act 1998 and Wales Act 1998
scotland: re established a scottish parliament
wales: established the national assembly in wales (Senedd)
Human rights act 1998
incorporates the ECHR into British law.
- public bodies are expected to act in accordance with the ECHR and judges should interpret the law according to the principles of the ECHR
House of Lords Act 1999
- removed all but 92 hereditary peers from the HoL
equality act 2010
- confides into 1 parliamentary statute anti discriminatory legislation
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marriage act 2013
- legalises same sex marriage
common law
- important when statute law is unclear/incomplete
- important cases basiclly .
Bushell’s case 1670
- judges refused to find 2 Quakers guilty of unlawful asembly
- one of the judges, Edward Bushell refused to pay the fine
- in the resulting case, Sir John Vaughan declared in favour of the jury
- protects the independence of a jury
Entick v. carrington 1765
- James Entick’s home was ransacked by the Earl of Halifax because he was publishing anti-government articles.
- Entick sued
- Presiding judge Lord Camden found him innocent
- protects british citizens from an autocratic government
Somerset v. Stewart 1772
- black slave, James Somerset, imprisoned by charles stewart for escaping.
- lawyers claimed slavery was unconstitutional
- challenged slavery before it was abolished in 1833.
R. V. R. 1991
- established the principle that a husband could be guilty of raping his wife.
conventions
not recognised as law, but developed overtime.
Eg. Salisbury Convention: the HoL cannot oppose the second/third reading of legislation that was in the winning party’s manifesto.
- Eg. Collective ministerial responsibility ensures governments survive rather than fragment
- Eg. HoC should vote on whether to support military action (2003, Tony Blair)
- Eg. public should be consulted in a referendum to legitimise proposed changes to the constitution
landmark decisions
went over in the other flashcards :p
authorative works
- influential works said to be part of the constitution
- The English Constitution 1867 by Walter Bagehot explains relationships between branches
- introduction to the law of the constitution 1885 by AV Dicey, he explains his twin pillars.
- Parliamentary Practice 1844 by Erskin May. Referenced in 2019 (the updated 2022 version) by speaker John Bercow to explain a motion or amendment ‘which is the same in substance’ should not be reintroduced to stop Theresa May reintroducing her brexit deal into parliament in an unchanged state
treaties
- Treaty of Rome 1957, the UK accepted all existing European Community law
- Maastricht Treaty 1993
- Lison treaty 2009
- both changed the UK law
relationships between the sources of the UK constitution
- statute law seen as the ultimate source of authority. An Act of parliament can supersede landmark decisions
- parliamentary statute also takes precedence over conventions, authoratitve works and common law.
- BUT: Eg. Factortame case 1991 declared cases where the EU legislated took precedence over domestic law (only here though xx)
