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Politics Paper 2 > Constitution > Flashcards

Constitution Flashcards

1
Q

What are the purposes of the UK Constitution?

A
  1. set out rules and regulations within which governments operate
  2. establish composition, powers and function of institutions of state
  3. regulate the relations between institutions of the state
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2
Q

Features of the UK Constitution

A
  • parliamentary sovereignty
  • uncodified
  • unitary
  • flexible
  • fusion of powers
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3
Q

Sources of Constitution

A
  • common law
  • statute law
  • conventions
  • authoritative works
  • EU Law
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4
Q

What is common law ? Give an example.

A

the legal principles laid down by judges
e.g. the presumption that a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty

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5
Q

What is statute law ? Give an example.

A

body of law passed by parliament
e.g. 1998 Scotland Wales and NI Act created devolved legislative bodies

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6
Q

What are conventions ? Give an example.

A

customs and practices that do not have legal force
e.g. royal prerogative / individual ministerial responsibility / collective ministerial responsibility

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7
Q

What are authoritative works ? Give an example.

A

textbooks that explain the political system
e.g. Walter Bagehot’s ‘The English Constitution’ distinguished ‘dignified’ and ‘effective’ sections of constitution

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8
Q

Give an example of EU law in the UK Constitution

A

Maastricht 1992

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9
Q

What does uncodified mean?

A

the UK constitution is not in a single legal code or document
it comes from a number of different sources

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10
Q

What does being unentrenched mean?

A

the UK constitution is easily altered
no special legal procedure like in the US

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11
Q

What does being ‘unitary’ mean?

A

the sovereignty is contained in central government

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12
Q

Give a quote to describe the nature of the UK Constitution

A

‘partly written and wholly uncodified’

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13
Q

What are the disadvantages of the uncodified nature of the UK constitution?

A
  • reflects the mood of the time
  • difficult to amend e.g. difficulty of Brexit
  • weak governments e.g. Blair faced 0 defeats between 1997 and 2005
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14
Q

Name the developments of the UK Constitution

A
  • Magna Carta
  • Bill of Rights
  • Acts of Settlement
  • Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
  • European Communities Act 1972
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15
Q

How did the ‘Bill of Rights’ develop the UK Constitution?

A
  • created notion of parliamentary sovereignty
  • parliament must meet frequently
  • elections must be free and fair
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16
Q

How did the ‘Acts of Settlement’ develop the UK Constitution?

A
  • monarch existed on parliament’s term
  • monarch subordinate to Parliament
17
Q

How did the ‘Parliaments Act 1911 and 1949’ develop the UK Constitution?

A

1911 - Lords could block bills for two years
1949 - reduced Lords ability to block bills to one year

18
Q

How did the ‘European Communities Act 1972’ develop the UK Constitution?

A
  • British Law subordinate to EU Law
  • Impacts Britains control over immigration and trading
19
Q

What effect would a codified and entrenched constitution have on the public?

A
  • educate them about constitutional issues
  • promote greater respect for political institutions
  • greater clarity about the rights of citizens and the power of governments clearing up any uncertainty
20
Q

How would a codified constitution mean greater clarity about the rights of citizens and the powers of government?

A

it would clear up the uncertainty arising from conventions governing the power of the PM / the circumstances in which a minister should resign / what happens in the event of a ‘hung parliament’ with no clear election winner

21
Q

What effect would a codified and entrenched constitution have on civil rights?

A
  • create a Bill of Rights
  • provide stronger protections of individual liberties than the current Human Rights Act (e.g. control orders 2005)
22
Q

What effect would a codified and entrenched constitution have on the amendment process?

A
  • would not make it impossible to amend the constitution
  • would instead entail a more orderly and careful process
  • would reduce the chances of a government pushing through ill considered chnages
23
Q

How does an uncodified constitution fail to keep check on the government?

A

with an uncodified constitution there is tendency for governments to push the boundaries of what is political possible therefore increasing their own power

24
Q

How would a constitutional court increase the legitimacy of the political process?

A

a constitutional court would be staffed by senior judges with expert knowledge would be able to assess the constitutionality of actions by parliament and the executive judging their behaviour by a clear set of rules

25
Q

What is the public response to reforming the constitution to one that is entrenched and codified including a bill of rights?

A
  • almost no public demand for this kind of change
  • it would be extremely difficult to find consensus on what to include in a codified constitution
  • such a project would probably entail years of debate and consultation
26
Q

What are the positives of an uncodified constitution in a modern society?

A
  • allows for greater flexibility
  • the uk constitution is seen as an organic entity
  • able to adapt to political and social change
    (the examples of this are the constitutional reforms since 1997 which prove that the UK constitution is able to absorb change)
27
Q

What are the negative impacts of a codified constitution on the government?

A

the government would otherwise be unduly constrained by a codified constitution
wouldn’t be able to rapidly take decisions in changing situations e.g. countering the threat of terrorism

28
Q

How can the UK Constitution be argued to still provide clarity though it is uncodified?

A

Much of the historic constitution is written with acts of parliament and authoritative works providing clear guidance
Few codified constitutions are self explanatory and they require extensive interpretation

29
Q

Who would a codified constitution put too much unjustified power in the hands of?

A

unelected unaccountable judges who may be out of touch with public opinion

Politics Paper 2 (13 decks)

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