Topic 1: UK Constitution Flashcards
What is an uncodifed constitution?
Found in variety of sources = UK constitution
Also Saudi Arabia/New Zealand?
What is the significance of the UK constitution being uncodifed?
- More difficult to understand rights/how political system works
- BUT easier to adapt e.g. Acts of Parliament
What is an example of a change to the constitution that was made in the UK?
Constitutional Reform Act 2005 - created supreme court (seperate judiciary)
What does it mean that the constitution is unitary?
All power derives from central govt - opposite of federal constitution e.g. USA
What is the significance of the UK being a unitary state?
- Westminister Parliament is sovereign = very powerful
- Any power given to regions e.g. devolution is delegated = not transferred permanently
What is the rule of law?
- Everyone equally subject to laws - even govts/ministers cannot break
- AV Diecey - “twin pillars” of constitution
- Opposite of arbitrary govt e.g. dictatorships
What is the significance of the rule of law?
- Limits power of govt
- Govt department breaks low/guidlines = beyond power of law
- Lead to govt reverse actions, EXAMPLE: 2019 - Boris Johnson acted illegally by attempting to prorogue parliament without consent for Brexit debates
What is parliamentary sovereignity?
Parliament = supreme authority, can alter constitution at will with statute law
What is the significance of parliamentary sovereignity?
- Flexible, easy to change - new law needed
- No parliament can bind its successor - constitution can be changed over time
e.g. European Communities Act 1972 repealed by European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020
What is statute law?
Acts of Parliament - alter British constitution e.g. voting under Gretat Reform Act 1832 + Ballot Act 1872
Also covers human rights e.g. Human Righs Act 1998 - incorporated ECHR
What is the significance of statute law?
- Constitution flexible/adapatable
- Easily to expand/protect democracy/individual rights e.g. giving women vote by 1928
BUT rights could be removed/diluted by parliament
What is common law?
Laws passed by legal judgements in court - right to free expression, murder
Magna Carta based on common law
What is the signficance of common law?
- No precedence over statute law/Acts of Parliament.
- Statute law can repeal/modify rights e.g. compulsory purchase orders
What is royal prerogative?
Historicalc powers of monarch transferred to PM
e.g. armed forces lead by monarch but decisions made by govt
What is the significance of royal prerogative?
Govt can extend powers e.g. honours including peerages
BUT limited by Acts of Parliament e.g. Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
What are conventions?
Unwritten traditions - govt run smoothly
e.g. 1945 Salisbury Convention - Lords agree to not delay policies in governing party’s manifesto
What is the significance of conventions?
- Usually work well e.g. enabled David Cameron to have first chance to form coalition govt
- BUT not protected by anything other than tradition
3; Lors rejected People’s Budget in 1909 - broke convention = constitutional crisis
What are authoritative opinions?
Writings/books of constitutional experts that clarify/explain inner workings of constitution e.g. AV Diecey’s “Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution”
More recent - Cabinet Manual - sets out main laws for conduct of govt
What is the significance of authoritative opinions?
Like conventions = no legal authority BUT smooth running of govt
Not usually approved formally by parlimanet
Also embody/describe existing rules/conventions
What are international treaties & conventions?
Treaties/agreements that UK govt has signed up to e.g. ECHR
What is the significance of international treaties & conventions
ECHR - all legislation previously had to conform, asylum law, enviroonmental controls e.g. UK signed 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change
What was the Magna Carta in 1215?
- Agreement between King John + barons that established that everyone was subject to law.
- Right to fair trial.
- Landmark in development of human rgihts - some clauses also in American Bill of Rights 1791 + Universal Declaration of Human Rights
BUT did not give many rights to ordinary people
What was the Bill of Rights (1689)?
- Agreement between king/parlimanet
- States Parliamnet must meet frequently, elections free, complete freedom of speech (parliemntary privilege)
- Principles of no taxation without agreeement
- Created parliamentary sovereignity
What is an example of parliamentary privilege?
July 2021 - SDLP MP Colum Eastwood used it to name “Soldier F” - British soldier accused in involvement in 1972 BLoody Sunday shootings
What were the Acts of Settlement (1701)?
- Only Protestants not Catholics could become monarch/married to monarch
- Asserted parliament’s dominant position
- Established principle that monarchy existed on parliament’s terms
What were the Parliament Acts (1944 and 1949)?
- Reduced rights/powers of Lords
- 1911 act - rempved power to veto legislation/two year delay
1949 Act - reduced delay to 1 year - Acts increased powers of Commons
What was the European Communites Act (1972)?
- Brought in by cons. govt - entry into what is now EU
- Weakening of parliamentary sovereignity - comply with EU law
- 2016 brexit - undone
What are some examples of changes to the constitution since 1997?
- Creation/expansion of developed parliaments (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) - Wales Act 2014/2017, Scotland Act 2016
- Reform HoL 199 - removal of hereditary peers (92 left)
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Freedom of Information Act 2000, Data Protection Act 1998
- European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018
What is the significance of the Freedom of Information Act 2000?
Requires public bodies to publish information about activites e.g. annual report, minutes of meetings + public reques tinformation
What are some of the strengths of the Freedom of Information Act?
- FOI requests popular - 44,000 requests in 2020
- Allows public/presusre groups to find watse/inefficency
- Journalists cna investigate, e.g. expenses scandal 2009
- Public scrutiny of policy intatitves e.g. 2006 - knife amnesty by Metropolitan police - limited impact
What are some of the weaknesses of the Freedom of Information Act?
- Public bodies can refuse requests e.g. national security, cost
- 2020 - 50% declined
- Release of private/personal information about indviiduals
What was the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011?
- Weakened power of PM to call election
- Now needs vote by 2/3 majority to call early election or no confidence
- Enhance stability of coalition govt
- BUT repelled by Cons. in 2021
What were the advantages of the fixed term parliaments act?
- Coalition govt work in stable/effective way over term
- Fairer on junior members e.g. Liberal Democrats in 2010
What were the weaknesses of the fixed term parliaments act?
- Only passed due to political circumstances
- Did not protect Liberal Democrats as went from 57 MPs to 9 in 2016
- Boris Johnson got around act to call early election by vote of 438 to 20 in 2019
What are some arguments that the British constituion protects rights?
- Statute laws + anti-discrimination laws - explicitly defined e.g. reight to access information
- Codification = not enhance awareness of individual/collective rights
- Large no. of people/pressure groups use courts to assert rights
- Electorate unlikely to cote for MPs who will take away rights
How does the British constitution not protect rights?
- Loopholes in legsialtion e.g. 2018 furorse over uneqal pay for journalists at BBC
- Uncodified = unaware of rights
- Parliamentary sovereignity = no rights entrenched
- Brexit - rights more vulnerable as leaving EU - no double strength of being in both ECHR and EU
What are some examples of where individual rights and collective rights clash?
- Individual privacy BUT terrorism have phone calls monitored
- Individual discrimination e.g. sexuality BUT religious groups express beliefs
- Individual free speech BUT collective right of minority group not to be subjected to hate speech
- Individual employees not to be coereced/intimidated BUT collective right to be treated fairly/strike
- Individual to keep private life private BUT collective right for press to investigate stores in public interest
- Individual choice to be vaccinated BUT collective right to protect those clinically vulnerable
