Constitutional law/judicial review Flashcards
What is the nature of the UK’s constitution?
Uncodified, comprised of both written and unwritten components including statutes, common law, conventions, and practices.
How does I. Jennings define the term “constitution” in the UK context?
Jennings differentiates between the constitution as a document outlining governmental structures and powers, and as the rules determining the creation and operation of government institutions.
What key institutions are part of the UK constitutional framework?
The Crown, the Executive (Government and Administration), Parliament (House of Commons and House of Lords), and the devolved legislatures and governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
What case acknowledged the UK constitution’s diverse origins and emphasised the judiciary’s role in upholding constitutional values?
R (Miller) v The Prime Minister; Cherry and others v Advocate General for Scotland ([2019] UKSC 41).
What symbolizes the UK’s constitutional monarchy within its constitutional framework?
The Crown.
What are the components of the Executive in the UK’s constitutional framework?
The Government (Prime Minister and Cabinet) and the Administration (civil service and public bodies).
How does the UK Parliament demonstrate a bicameral structure?
It comprises the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
What signifies the UK’s quasi-federal structure due to devolution?
The devolved legislatures and governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
How is the UK constitution’s flexibility and evolution through practice, legislation, and conflict highlighted?
Through the dual interpretation of the constitution as both a document outlining governmental structures and powers, and as the rules determining the creation and operation of government institutions, as well as through significant judicial cases like R (Miller) v The Prime Minister.
What role does local government play in the UK?
Delivers services like education and housing, with councils and directly elected mayors playing crucial roles.
What is the function of the judiciary in the UK?
Interprets laws and principles through courts and tribunals.
What is judicial review in the context of the UK legal system?
Allows individuals to challenge the legality of actions taken by public bodies, with grounds including procedural unfairness and illegality.
What remedies can judicial review result in?
What are the sources of the UK’s constitution’s legal basis?
Remedies can range from quashing orders to injunctions and damages.
Primary legislation (Acts of Parliament), common law, subordinate legislation, prerogative powers, and international law recognized under domestic norms.
What principles support the UK’s legal fabric?
Who is associated with the principle of the rule of law in the UK?
Democratic accountability, separation of powers, the rule of law, and respect for human rights.
Albert Venn Dicey and Lord Bingham.
What are constitutional conventions in the UK?
Unwritten rules not legally enforceable but significantly influence the political system’s functioning; they are flexible and evolving.
(rules of good political behaviour. They are typically rules of self-restraint, not exercising powers to the full.)
i.e., PM expected to resign after loss of confidence from House of Commons
