Constitutions of the UK Flashcards
What are the bodies of the Constitution / Sovereign?
- Parliament (legislature)
- Executive (government)
- judiciary
How has the Constitution evolved over the years?
The Monarch can no longer overrule Parliament
- rule of law elements &
- parliament sovereignty
What is the role of the Monarch in the current day?
Some of the monarch’s remaining powers, limited by constitutional convention, are:
~ Appointing the Prime Minister
~ Dissolving Parliament in some circumstances
~ Giving ‘Royal Assent’ to Acts of Parliament
What is Royal Prerogative?
powers that are invested in the monarch, and do not require the consent of Parliament to
use.
examples are:
~ Summon and prorogue Parliament
~ Give pardons
~ Issue passports
~ Mobilise the armed forces and
~ declare war
~ Negotiate treaties
What is the power of the legislature (parliament)?
body that enacts new law, and repeals or amends existing law.
- In practice, this means the House of Commons and the House of Lords; the King’s role is limited to granting ‘royal assent’ to new laws.
What is the power of the executive (government)?
Formulate and implement policy.
- In the UK, the executive consists of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the various government departments (ministries), a politically neutral civil service, and other bodies carrying out
government functions at the local level, e.g., city, county and district councils.
What is the power of the judiciary?
Body of judges of all levels of seniority, responsible for the enforcement of criminal and civil law and the adjudication of disputes between individuals, + between individuals and the state.
What are the constitutional rules?
(a) conditions the legal relationship between the citizen and the state in some general, overarching manner; and
(b) enlarges or diminishes the scope of what we would now regard as fundamental constitutional rights”.
What is the role of the Parliament?
~ Debate and scrutinise proposed legislation
~ Propose amendments to legislation
~ Extract information from the executive and hold it to account on its policies and actions
~ Scrutinise public expenditure and taxation
What did the Constitutional Reform Act do?
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 led to the reorganisation of the House of Lords’ relationship with the judiciary.
What is the structure of the executive?
- the monarch
- the Prime Minister and cabinet
- government departments
Where does the executive gain its power from?
- Mostly from statute (legislation which has been approved by Parliament for a specific purpose
- Or from powers recognised in the common law
- These powers include those from the royal prerogative - these are historic powers that have never been formally approved by Parliament, but they are recognised as legitimate.
- They are exercised by senior government ministers in the name of the monarch
What is the role of the judiciary?
~ To determine the outcome of legal disputes between individuals (natural or legal persons).
~ To decide the appropriate punishment in criminal cases.
~ In the case of the Administrative Court, to determine whether the government has lawfully exercised its powers.
- (The Administrative Court is where most public law claims begin. (Appeals lie to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division), and ultimately the
Supreme Court.)
Define Constitutional Conventions
Rules of constitutional practice that are regarded as binding in operation but not in law”
What is the function of constitutional conventions?
They underpin the operation of the Cabinet system, defining what Ministers are responsible for, and how they should conduct
themselves.
