The Constitution (Paper 2)

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

Question 3

Uncodified

Answer 3

A constitution not contained in a single written document

Question 4

Unitary

Answer 4

A political system where all legal sovereignty is contained in a single place

Question 5

Parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 5

The principle that Parliament can make, amend or unmake any law, and cannot bind its successors or be bound by its predecessors

Question 6

The rule of law

Answer 6

The principle that all people and bodies, including government, must follow the law and can be held to account if they do not

Question 7

Statute law

Answer 7

Laws passed by Parliament

Question 8

Common law

Answer 8

Law made by judges where the law does not cover the issue or is unclear

Question 9

Conventions

Answer 9

Traditions not contained in law but influential in the operation of a political system

Question 10

Authoritative works

Answer 10

Works written by experts describing how a political system is run, they are not legally binding but are taken as significant guides

Question 11

Treaties

Answer 11

Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament

Question 12

Devolution

Answer 12

The dispersal of power, but not sovereignty, within a political system

Question 13

The royal prerogative

Answer 13

These are the sources of many of the executive powers of the British government. Prerogative powers were formerly exercised by the monarch acting on his or her own initiative. For example, the Prime Minister can carry out the powerbto delcare war without technically needing to consult Parliament