The Constitution Flashcards
what is a constitution
A set of rules which regulates the system of government and politics of a country
Did the UK constitution develop quickly or slowly
Slowly - over many centuries
Give 2 reasons Why the UK constitution develop slowly
Organic constitution. Shaped by gradual changes in UK society & politics
Never been imposed by a single event eg revolution
What is the Magna Carta
1215
An agreement between nobels and King
Established principle of the rule of law
Ie govt must operate within the law & law applies equally to all citizens
What was Bill of Rights
1689
An agreement between King and Parliament
Established idea of the sovereignty of parliament over the king in matters of legislation
What was Act of Settlement
1701
Established the monarchs position as ruler of England, scotland, wales & ireland
Established that the rules of succession should be determined by parliament
What was Act of Union
1707
Dissolved scottish parliament
Established the union of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
What were parliament acts
1911 & 1949
Limited the power of the HoL to delaying legislation for one year
Took about power of HoL over financial matters
What was the European Communities Act
1972
Established the UK’s entry into the European Community
What was the European (Notification of Withdrawl) act
2017
Gave parliamentary approval to the UK’s decision to leave the EU
What are the 4 different principles / properties of constitutions
Can a constitution have more than one principle/property
Yes a constitution can more than one principle. They are Codified Entrenched Uncodified Unentrenched
What is a codified constitution
One which is set out in a single document and has a single source
Eg USA 1787 or France 1791 or 1946 or 1958
What is an entrenched constitution
One which has special arrangements to safeguard it from being amended by a temporary government or legislature
Eg in USA changes require approval of 2/3 both houses and 3/4 of the 50 states
In Ireland or france changes can only be made after a referendum
What is an uncodified constitution
One which is not contained in a single document and has a number of different sources
Eg UK
What is an unentrenched constitution
One that can be amended by an individual government or parliament
Is it correct to describe the UK constitution as unwritten
No. It is partly written eg constitutional statutes and partly unwritten (conventions)
It is more accurate to describe it is uncodified
What is parliamentary sovereignty
This means that legal sovereignty lies ONLY with the Parliament
Eg UK
Does the regining monarch have sovereignty
NO
The possibility that the monarch would ever try to exercise sovereignty only exisits in theory
What is a Unitary constitution
One which establishes that legal sovereignty resides in one location
Eg UK parliament
What is a federal constitution
One where legal sovereignty is divided equally between the central government and regional governments
What is meant by Rule of Law
This is the principle that all citizens are equal under the law and that the government is subject to the same laws.
Is power the same as sovereignty
No
Sovereignty referes to ultimate power which cannot be overruled by any individual, institution or constitution
Power is weaker. It is the ability to take certian actions which could in theory be overruled by a higher power eg UK Parliament is sovereign but the Prime Minister has considerable power
What is meant by separation of powers
A constitutional principle common to most codified constitutions
The powers of different branches of govt are clearly defined and separated
So different branches control each others power
What is the opposite of separation of powers
Fusion of powers
Eg UK
What is the difference between the constitutional principles de jure and de facto
De jure means in theory
De facto means in practice
Devolution grants sovereignty to scotland de facto as it was confirmed by referendum
The monach could refuse royal assent to legislation de jure but not de facto
Characteristics of uk constitution
Uncodified Not entrenched BUT rule of law applies It is unitary Powers of the legislature and executive are fused It is organic and develops naturally
What are the 5 main sources of the UK constitution
Parliamentary statutes Consitutional conventions Foreign treaties and agreements Authoritative works Common law and tradition
What is a parliamentary statute and give an example
Laws passed by parliament Human rights act 1998 Contitutional reform act 2005 Freedom of information act Equality act Parliaments act
What is a constitutional convention and give an example
Unwritten rules which are considered to be binding on all members of the political community
Salisbury convention
Collective cabinet responsibility
What are foreign treaties or agreements and give an example
Agreements with external bodies that bind the UK in some way
Mastrict Treaty with EU (until 2019)
European convention on human rights with council of europe
NATO
What are authoratative works and give an example
The writings of constitutional experts that clarify the meaning of the constitution
Blackstone’s commentaries. Also Bagehot or Dicey
What is common law or tradition and give an example
Rules that have been passed down through various judgments in court cases
The rules of parliamentary procedure and discipline
Freedom of expression
Freedom of speech
Freedom of association
Give 2 examples of countries with a codified constitution
USA Germany France Spain Russia Japan
Give 2 examples of countries without a codified constitution
UK
New Zealand
Israel
What were the reasons for the constitutional reform of 1997-2010
The political system needed to be more democratic
The political system was too centralised
Citizens rights were inadequately protected
The political system needed to be modernised
Devolution reform 1997-8
The transfer of extensive powers away from westminster and Whitehall to governments and elected assemblies in scotland, wales and NI
new electoral systems introduced in the three countries
Scotland & Wales -additional member system
northern ireland - single transferable vote
Human rights act 1998
Brought the european convention on human rights into UK law
Binding on all bodies except the UK parliament
House of Lords Act 1999
Removed the voting rights of hundreds of hereditary peers in the HoL
92 hereditary peers kept their rights
Rest of HoL now made up of church of england bishops and appointed peers
Greater London Authority Act 1999
Introduced an elected mayor for london with extensive powers over policing, planning, social housing, emergency services, tourism etc
Freedom of information act 2000
Granted the legal right to individuals and organisations to access official information held by all public bodies except for information concerning national security
Constitution reform act 2005
This took the 12 most senior judges out of the HoL and created instead the supreme court , the highest court of of appeal and legal interpretation in the country
guaranteed the independence of the judiciary,
took the appointment of judges out of the political hands
replaced the lord chancellor (a cabinet minister) with lord chief justice (senior judge) as head of the judiciary
Backbench business committee 2010
A new backbench committee in the commons given control of 35 days for debate chosen by backbenchers NOT the government
Why was increased use of referendums during late 1990’s - 2000’s important
Not a single event but the principle was established that important constitutional changes needed to be approved and entrenched by referendum
Although not sure everyone agreed after leave vote of 2016
What were the Main points of constitutional reform 2010-2015
Coalition government committed to some reforms
Fixed term parliaments act 2011
Wales Act 2014
Recall of MP’s act 2015
What was the fixed term parliament act
2011
Date of election taken out of PM’s control
Elections every 5 years
Early election can be called if 2/3 HoC agrees or if govt loses a vote of no confidence
What is Wales Act 2014
Limited extension of devolution in wales
Limited powers to raise ow forms of tax and control that revenue
What is recall of MPs act 2015
Gives contituents power to order their mp to face a by election if he/she has been guilty of serious misconduct
What has been constitutional reform post 2015
Overshaddowed by UK leaving EU
Scotland act 2016
Wales act 2017
European union (notification of withdrawl) act 2017
Election of mayors in various cities and regions 2017
English votes for english laws 2017
What was Scotland Act
2016
Increased devolved powers of scottish govt and parliament
Granted power to set rates of income tax in scotland and determine how money raised should be spent
Act made devolution permanent although subject to the sovereignty of the UK parliament
What is Wales act
2017
Wales can determine its own electoral system (not for general elections)
Welsh assembly may turn itself into a parliament and take on limited law making functions
Increased powers over various public services also devolved
What is european union (notification of withdrawal) act 2017
Gives notice of the UK’s intention to leave the EU in march 2019
What is english votes for english laws act
2017
Mp’s sitting for welsh, scottish or NI seats will not debate or vote on issues affecting England only
What are the main objectives of constitutional reform since 2010
Decentralise power from london and central govt
Make electionsfairer
To guarantee the UK’s withdrawl from the EU post 2016 referendum
Which govt enacted human rights act
Labour 1997-2001
Which government enacted fixed term parliaments act
Conservative led Coalition 2010-215
Which government enacted constitutional reform act
Labour 2001-2005
Which government enacted house of lords act
Labour 1997-2001
Which government enacted freedom of information act
Labour 1997-2001
Which government enacted english votes for english laws act
Conservative 2015
Definition of devolution
A process whereby power but not legal sovereignty is distributed away from central govt to regional govt
Which countries of the uk had power over health care administration in 2017
Scotland, wales and NI
Which countries of uk had power over criminal laws in 2017
Scotland and NI
Which countries of UK had powers over income tax in 2017
Scotland
Which countries in UK had power over education in 2017
Scotland, wales and NI
Is devolution a process or an event
Process - long term exercise
Give 3 arguments in favour of codifying the UK constitution
Would prevent the creeping increase in executive power
Would help to improve the sefeguarding of rights
Would educate people about the way in which the government and political system work
Would safeguard the devolution of pwer to the national regions
Give 3 arguments against codifying the UK constitution
Uk would lose flexibility in its constitutional arrangements
Excessive protection of rights might reduce the govts ability to protect national security
Would be difficult and time consuming to organise the codifying of a aconstitution and organise public approval
A codified constitution like the USA might thrust supreme court into politcal issues and threaten its neutrality and independence
What is the Salisbury convention
Constitutional convention under which the OoL will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto
