L1: The Evolving British Constitution Flashcards
What is a constitution?
A web of principles, values and rules which define and qualify the relationship between government and individuals.
What is the purpose of a democratic constitution ?
- Allocate and define power- According to the separation of power principle, the UK has three main branches which include the executive, the judiciary and the legislature.
- Provide accountability- Holding someone in power to account so they are answerable to the actions and decisions they make. We want to make sure they’re entitled to power behaving in a way which is responsible.
- Reflect the Consensus- A constitution should make law, and policy legitimately reflects a consensus meaning use the majority. In our constitution, we have a diverse group of people and viewpoints so the government will react on everyone’s views and through the consensus, it’ll limit down to the overall majorities view even if the majority is less than the majorities margin.
How does the UK uphold a democratic constitution ?
- Through ROL
- Through SoP
- Through Parl Sov
Why isn’t our constiution codified ?
This is because there have been many gradual changes which include:
- Magna Carta
- Bill of Rights 1689
- 1803: process of judicial review began
- The Reform Act (1832)
- BBC v John’s Case (1965)
- Joining EU: Through European Communities Act (1972)
- Bringing human rights from ECHR home: HRA1998
- Devolution: Scotland Act
- Brexit- 2020
What are the written sources of our constitution ?
- Acts of Parliament
- EU law
- ECHR
- Common law decisions
What are the unwritten sources of our constitution ?
- Prerogative Powers
- Conventions
- ROL
- SoP
- Parliamentary Sovereignty
What are constitutional statutes?
One which conditions the legal relationship between citizen and the state in some general manner or enlarges/ diminishes the scope of what we would now regard as fundamental constitutional rights
