Public Law

Question 1

What is an Written Constitution?

Answer 1

A state with a written constitution will have its constitution set out in a single document. This document will contain the fundamental laws of the constitution and define the powers of the different branches of state. It may also contain a Bill of Rights setting out the fundamental civil liberties to be enjoyed by citizens of the state.

Question 2

What is an Unwritten constitution?

Answer 2

A state with an unwritten consistution will not have its constitution set out in a single authoritative document. Rather the constitution will be made up of a number of different sources, such as a statute and case law

Question 3

What is a Republican constitution?

Answer 3

A state with a republican consistution will usually have a democratically-elected president as it’s head of state

Question 4

What is a Monarchical constiution?

Answer 4

A state with a monarchical constitution will have an unelected monarch as head of state (although the monarch’s role may be largely ceremonial)

Question 5

What is a federal constitution?

Answer 5

A state with a federal constituion will have a division of power between the central government and regional government.

Question 6

What is a Unitary constitution?

Answer 6

A state with a unitary constitution will have a single sovereign legislative body, with power being concentrated at the centre.

Question 7

What is a Rigid constitution?

Answer 7

A state which has a rigid constitution has a constitution which is said to be ‘entrenched’. This means that the constitution may be changed by only following a special procedure. Most states with written constitutions tend to be rigid.

Question 8

What is a Flexible constitution?

Answer 8

A state which has a flexible constitution has a constitution which is comparatively easy to change because no special procedures are necessary for the constitution to be amended.

Question 9

What are Formal separation of powers?

Answer 9

A state which has a formal separation of powers has a clear separation both of functions and personnel between the executive (ie government), the legislative (ie parliament) and the judicial (ie the courts) branches of state

Question 10

What are informal separation of powers?

Answer 10

A state which has an informal separation of powers is likely to have a significant degree of overlap in terms of functions and personnel between executive, the legislative and the judicial branches of state.

Question 11

What is ‘The Rule of Law’?

Answer 11

• There should be no arbitrary exercise of power by the state or government. All action of the state or government must be permitted by the law.
• Laws should be made properly, following a set procedure.
• Laws should be clear- laws should be set out clearly and accessibly, and a citizen should be punished only for. clearly defined breach of the law.
• Laws should be certain- laws should not operate retrospectively and a citizen should not be punished for an act that was not a crime at the time he carried out that act.
• There should be equality before the law- all citizens should have equal access to the legal process for the redress of grievances, and the law should treat all persons in the same way. For example there should be no special exemptions for government officials
• The judiciary should be independent and impartial- the courts should be sufficiently independent from the legislature and the executive so that judges can uphold the law without fear of repercussions from the other branches of state.

Question 12

How did French political philosopher Charles de Montesquieu explain The Separation of Powers?

Answer 12

Montesquieu meant that, to prevent arbitrary or oppressive government, the different branches of state had to be kept separate in terms of their functions and personnel.

Question 13

What three different Branches of state did Montesquieu identify? (The separation of Powers)

Answer 13

a) the legislature (or parliament)- the body that makes the law.
b) the executive (government)- the body that implements the law;
c) the judiciary (or courts)- the body that resolves disputes about the law

Question 14

What is the classic definition of Parliamentary supremacy provided by Professor AV Dicey?

Answer 14

The principle of parliamentary sovereignty means neither more nor less than this: namely, that parliament… has, under the English constitution, the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and, further, that no person or body is recognised by the law… as having a tight to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.

Question 15

What are the four principal sources of the UK constitution?

Answer 15

a) Acts of Parliament
b) Case law
C) the Royal Prerogative
d) constitutional conventions

Question 16

What is Magna Carta 1215? (Acts of Parliament of constitutional importance)

Answer 16

This has symbolic value as the first assertion of the limits on the powers of the monarch and of the rights of individuals. Magna Carta was extracted from King John by his feudal lords and guaranteed certain rights to ‘freemen of the realm’, including trial by jury.Magna Carta embodies the principle that government must be conducted according to the law and with the consent of the governed. It established the principle that no man is above the law and compelled King John to renounce certain rights, respect specified legal procedures and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It also introduced the right to protection from unlawful imprisonment.

Question 17

What is the Bill of Rights 1689?

Answer 17

This imposed limitations on the powers of the Crown (ie the monarch) and its relationship with Parliament. The Bill of Rights removed the power of the monarch arbitrarily to suspend acts of Parliament and the power of the monarch to impose taxation without Parliament’s consent.The Bill of Rights also provided that Parliament should meet on a r egular basis, e lections to Parliament should be free from interference by the monarch, and ‘freedom of speech and debates in proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliame

Question 18

What is the Act of Settlement 1701?

Answer 18

This altered the rules of succession (by prohibiting Catholics from succeeding to the throne and giving precedence to male heirs) and established the constitutional independence of the judiciary (by providing security of tenure for senior judges). However, the Succession to the Crown Act 2013 will remove the bar on the monarch marrying a Catholic and end succession to the Crown based on gender; it will come into force when all the other 15 Commonwealth countries which have the Queen as head of state have made their own domestic arrangements to the same effect.

Question 19

What is the Acts of Union 1706-07?

Answer 19

These united England and Scotland under a single Parliament of Great Britain (the Parliament at Westminster). They also contained provisions to preserve the separate Scottish church and legal system.

Question 20

What are Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949?

Answer 20

The Parliament Acts altered the relationship between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. These Acts ensured that the will of the elected House of Commons would prevail over that of the unelected House of Lords by enabling legislation to be enacted without the consent of the House of Lords

Question 21

What is the European Communities Act 1972?

Answer 21

This Act brought the UK into the (now) EU and incorporated EU law and EU legal systems into our domestic law. The Treaty establishing the European |Community has been amended and renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)

Question 22

What is the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984?

Answer 22

This Act is relevant to civil liberties. It provides the police with extensive powers of arrest, search and detention, but also contains important procedural safeguards to ensure that the police do not abuse such powers.

Question 23

What is the Public Order Act 1986?

Answer 23

This Act is also relevant to civil liberties. It allows limitations to be placed on the rights of citizens to hold marches and meetings in public places.

Question 24

What is the Human Rights ACt 1998?

Answer 24

The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into our domestic law. It marks a fundamental change in the protection of human rights by allowing citizens to raise alleged breaches of their human rights before domestic courts

Question 25

What is the Acts of devolution? (e.g. Scotland Act 1998)

Answer 25

The Acts of devolution created a devolved system of government in various parts of the UK. Acts establishing a Scottish Parliament and assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland have decentralised the process of government and given greater autonomy to these parts of the UK

Question 26

What is the Consistutional Reform Act 2005?

Answer 26

This Act reformed the office of Lord Chancellor, transferring the Lord Chancellor’s powers as head of the judiciary to the Lord Chief Justice and permitting the House of Lords to elect its own Speaker. It also provided for the creation of a Supreme Court (to replace the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords) and created a new body (the Judicial Appointments Commission) to oversee the appointment of judges

Question 27

What is the common law?

Answer 27

The common la is an important source of key principles of our constitution

Question 28

What is residual freedom?

Answer 28

The principle of ‘residual freedom’ (upon which civil liberties in this country are based) developed through the common law. It means that a citizen is free to do or say whatever he wishes unless the law (primarily expressed through |Acts of Parliament) clearly states that such action or statement id prohibited