sources of the UK constitution

Question 1

sources

Answer 1

Statute Law
Conventions
EU law
Royal Prerogative Powers
Common Law

Question 2

statute law

Answer 2

A statute is a written law passed by an Act of Parliament.
It is a law that is enforceable in the courts.
A number of key rules of government are written down in Acts of Parliament
Human Rights Act 1998
Elections Act 2022
Statute law overrides (almost) all other sources of the constitution:
Parliament can pass an Act of Parliament to cancel or change a rule based on another source

Question 3

common law

Answer 3

Common law refers to legal principles developed over time in courts (also ‘case law’ or ‘judicial precedents’). ‘Judge-made law’. Decisions made by judges become ‘common law’
Statute law overrides common law. Sometimes
Parliament decides to establish common law principles into an Act of Parliament.

Question 4

Prerogative powers of the prime minister
or ‘royal prerogative powers’

Answer 4

In practice they are now carried out by the prime minister in name of the monarch. They are sometimes called ‘royal prerogatives’
They are powers the prime minister can use without consulting parliament.
These prerogative powers give the Prime Minister huge powers to be used without Parliament having a say over it. This could be seen as undemocratic; something
left over from less democratic times when the unelected monarch had real powers.
And, statute law overrides prerogative powers. That means Parliament can take prerogative powers away (like they did with the Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011).

Question 5

conventions

Answer 5

Some parts of the UK constitution simply rely
on unwritten traditions; conventions.
Many ‘rules’ of government are simply
traditions. A convention is a rule that should be
followed, but because they are unwritten, not
law, they cannot be enforced – this means
they are sometimes ignored. - IMR and CMR

Question 6

EU law and international treaties

Answer 6

The EU has its own statute law. As member of the European Union the UK is bound by European law.
Just like UK statute law, most EU law is not of
constitutional importance – actually, very little of it is
The main European treaties establishing and changing the working of the EU are constitutional
EU law overrides national (UK) law

Question 7

brexit and EU laws

Answer 7

Since Brexit EU laws do no longer apply in the UK, so they are no longer a source of the UK constitution.
However, we will still be bound by international treaties and agreements:
Examples:
European Convention on Human Rights
NATO military alliance
Paris Climate Agreement