constitution Flashcards
features of codified constitution
- rules and principles governing state are collected in single document (constitution)
- status of fundamental law and is superior to all other laws
- entrenched with special procedures for its amendment that make it hard to change
- courts particularly a constitutional court, use constitution to determine whether actions of other key player are constitutional
features of an uncodified constitution
- no single authoritative document written or unwritten, instead rules governing state found in various sources
- constitutional laws have same status as regular statute= no hierarchy of laws and no fundamental law
- not entrenched= can be amended in same way as ordinary law
- judicial review limited= no single document that senior judges can use to determine whether or not act/action is unconstitutional
describe 1215 Magna Carta
(key document of UK constitution)
guaranteed right to a fair trial= offered the protection from arbitrary imprisonment= placed limits on taxation
describe 1689 Bill of Rights
(key document of UK constitution)
placed limitations on powers of the monarch= enhances status of parliament, prohibited cruel and unusual punishment
describe 1701 Act of Settlement
(key document of UK constitution)
barred roman catholics or those married to them from taking the throne= resulted in House of Hanover assuming english throne had paved way for 1707 Acts of Union
= designed to secure the Protestant succession to the throne and to strengthen guarantees for ensuring a parliamentary system of government
describe 1707 Acts of Union
(key document of UK constitution)
United Kingdoms of England and Scotland to form Great Britain, governed by Westminster
describe 1911 Parliament Act
(key document of UK constitution)
removed power from HOL to block money bills from imposing a 2 year max delay on these bills
describe 1949 Parliament Act
(key document of UK constitution)
reduced power of the HOL to delay non-money bills by reducing it to 1 year max
= delayed certain types of legislation, mainly public bills
= amended 1911 Parliament Act
describe 1972 European Communities Act
(key document of UK constitution)
Act of parliament that took UK into the EEC =incorporate the treaty of Rome into the UK law superior
= made the historic legal provision by incorporating and binding Community Law (subsequently European Union Law) and rulings from the European Court of Justice into the domestic law of the United Kingdom
describe 2020 EU withdrawal agreement Act
(key document of UK constitution)
Enshrines the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU in domestic law including any financial settlement and agreement on citizens’ rights
= makes provisions for changes to EU law to be legally binding in the UK during the implementation period (after the UK has left the EU)
list key principles that underpin UK’s Constitution
parliamentary sovereignty
the rule of law
a unitary state
parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy
describe parliamentary sovereignty
parliament have legal supremacy as it is the supreme law-making body
- parliament can legislate on any subject of choice
- legislation can’t be overturned by higher authority
- no parliament can bind its successors
under european communities act 1972 parliament agreed to make itself subservient to european law
= increased refs since 1997 could be said to transfer power from parliament back to the people
describe the rule of law
- define relationship between state and its citizens
= ensure state action is limited and responsible - A.V. Dicey 1885 said it has 3 strands
- no one punished wo trial
- no one is above the law and all face same justice
- general principles of constitution (freedoms) result from judge- made common law not from parliamentary statute
- basically everyone is equal under the law= access to fair trial and justice, laws passed by parliament must be applied by an independent judiciary= free from political interference
- essential feature for liberal democracy= human rights act 1998 protection of civil liberties
describe a unitary state
traditional british constitution is a unitary constitution
- political power is centralised
- central gov has ultimate authority
- centre dominates political, economic and cultural life of state
describe union state
- component parts come together through union of crowns/ treaty
- power at centre but component nations have some degree of autonomy (when a group of persons or a territory are self-governing, thus not under the control of a higher level of government)
