Glossary - UK Constitution

Question 1

Constitution

Answer 1

A set of rules determining where sovereignty lies in a political system, and establishing the relationship between the government and the governed

Question 2

Unentrenched

Answer 2

• A constitution with no special procedure for amendment

- Can be changed (not binded by its predecessors or successors)

Question 3

Uncodified

Answer 3

• not contained in a single written document

Question 4

Unitary

Answer 4

• all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place e.g. Westminister

Question 5

Parliamentary Sovereignty

Answer 5

• Parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors
• Parliament has the supreme legal authority

Question 6

Rule of Law

Answer 6

• All people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not

Question 7

Rule of Law

Answer 7

• All people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not

Question 8

Statute Law

Answer 8

• Laws passed by Parliament e.g. the HRA

Question 9

Common Law

Answer 9

• Laws made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear e.g. murder

Question 10

Conventions

Answer 10

• Traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system e.g. the Salisbury Convention (Lords won’t oppose legislation which is in a party’s manifesto)
• An unwritten understanding about how something in Parliament should be done which, although not legally enforceable, is almost universally observed

Question 11

Authoritative Works

Answer 11

• Works written by experts describing how a political system is run, they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides e.g. Erskine May (description of how procedure in the House of Commons and House of Lords has evolved and the conventions that apply)

Question 12

Treaties

Answer 12

• Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament e.g. Maastricht Treaty (established the EU, paved the way for the single currency: the euro and created EU citizenship)

Question 13

Devolution

Answer 13

The dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system e.g. Scotland (having devolved powers that they decide, but also reserved powers which Westminster decides)