the sources of the UK constitution Flashcards
what is statute law?
Acts of Parliament that are the highest legal authority in the UK, most important source
examples of statute law
The Human Rights Act 1998 (incorporated European Conventions on Human Rights into UK law)
Equal Franchise Act 1928 (established full and equal voting rights for women)
what is common law?
basic laws that have been in place for many years
examples of common law
basic rights, freedom (Human rights act)
what are conventions?
unwritten rules that are considered binding on all members of the political community
examples of conventions
collective responsibility (all members of government must support policy and if they dont, they must resign)
what are landmark decisions?
new cases in court that haven’t been discussed before, where new laws are introduced based off of these cases, however they can be overruled by an act of parliament
what did the fixed terms parliament act change? what is a downside to it?
each new parliament should sit for a fixed term of 5 years before the next general election. however, this term can be repealed or shortened in length
what is a treaty?
formal agreements with other countries
give examples of treaties
- the European Convention of Human Rights 1956
- The Maastricht Treaty 1992
- The Lisbon Treaty of 2007
what was the Lisbon Treaty 2007?
granted further powers and agreed to an effective EU constitution, including a process for leaving the EU, contained in Article 50
what was the Paris Climate Change Accords 2015?
UK committed itself to cut carbon emissions
what is the European convention on human rights?
British government agreed to be bound by the terms of the European Convention and subject to the European Court of Human Rights
what is the Maastricht Treaty 1992?
established the European Union, paved the way for the euro and created EU citizenship
