Definitionzzz Flashcards
Codified Constitution
Key provisions collected in a single document
The main body outlines the duties/powers/functions of governmental institutions
Usually include a statement of citizens’ rights and freedoms
> Sometimes a series of amendments
Authoritative
> The highest form of law
> Binds all government institutions
> Sets the framework for all other laws
Entrenched
> Can’t be amended easily like ordinary laws
> Special procedures for amendment
Judiciable
> All political bodies are subject to its authority
> Regulated by a Supreme/Constitutional Court
e.g. USA Constitution
Constitution
A framework of rules that seeks to establish the duties, powers and functions of the different institutions of government
Regulate the relationship between and among these institutions - legislative, executive and judiciary
Define the relationship between the state and the individual - determining the scope of civil liberty
Uncodified Constitution
Provisions found in varied sources - no single document called ‘The Constitution’
> Increasingly rare around the world
Not authoritative
> Legal system is single-tiered
> There is nothing special about constitutional law
Not entrenched
> Constitutional law can be changed exactly the same way as statute laws
> UK is based on Parliamentary Sovereignty
Not judiciable
> Judges don’t have an enshrined legal standard and therefore can’t declare things to be ‘constitutional’ or ‘unconstitutional’
Limited Government
A form of government in which government power is constrained through checks and balances, with protection for individual rights
Statute Law
The body of law consisting of written laws adopted by a legislative body
e.g. Human Rights Act 1998
Common Law
The part of English law that is derived from custom and judicial precedent instead of statute
Can include traditional precedents
e.g. Royal Prerogatives
Conventions
An informal or uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state
e.g. Individual ministerial responsibility and Collective ministerial responsibility
Constitutional Monarchy
Monarch is the head of the state, but their role is mainly ceremonial
The Government technically represents the Queen
The Monarch has the right to be informed and consulted and the right to warn and encourage
Prerogative Powers
Powers that belong to the monarch, but now, by convention, belong to the PM
Fusion of Powers
When two or more of the branches of overlap and aren’t kept separate
e.g. In the UK, the executive and legislative branches are both completed by the House of Commons in Parliament = Fusion of Powers
Elective Dictatorship
A majority (no matter how small) gives the government the power to pass any law it wishes > Once in power, the government can make whatever decisions they want to
Parliamentary Sovereignty
Central principle of the UK Constitution
Absolute and unlimited legal authority of Parliament
> Parliament is the highest authority
Parliament can make, amend or repeal any law that it wishes
No Parliament can bind its successor or be bound by its predecessor
Lacking a codified constitution, sovereignty rests in the Crown of the Parliament
Politically Sovereign
Has the legal right to do whatever it likes, but not necessarily the political ability to do so
> In theory, they can do whatever they want, but they can’t politically
Popular Sovereignty
Referendums have suggested that, in practice, sovereignty has shifted to the people
> Don’t have to listen to the referendum results - by convention, they often do
Rule of Law
While the UK lacks higher law, the government (and individual ministers) are still subject to legal constraints
The government, or any public body, is not above the law
e.g. Chris Hune
