UK Constitution Flashcards
Codified constitution
Contained in a single document which is the single source
Uncodified constitution
Is not contained within a single written document
Politically entrenched
Difficult/unlikely to change
Unentrenched
Can be changed by a simple majority and normal legislative processes
Unitary constitution
Legal sovereignty is contained in a single place
Federal constitution
Document which sets out the relationship between the governors and the governed under a federal system of government
Statue law
Written law produced by Parliament
Common law
Law that is declared and derived from judicial decisions applying to everyone across the country
Asymmetric devolution
Different devolved nations have different degrees of power and responsibility
Quasi-federalism
Central government of a unitary state devolves some of its powers to subnational governments
Fusion of powers
When the executive and legislative branches of government are intermingled
Separation of powers
Division of a state’s government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches
Decentralisation
Reduction in the authority of national governments over policy making
Example - Two benefits of constitution flexibility
Formation of coalition government in 2010 and ‘O’Donnell Rules’
Example - Statue law as a source
Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011
Example - Unentrenched
Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011 was ignored in order to pass the Early Parliamentary General Election Act 2019
Example - Authoritative works
John Bercow used Erskine May to decide Theresa May’s Brexit withdrawal agreement can be put before the House for a third time. But only if it had substantially changed from before.
Example - Fusion of power
Until 2005 the Lord Chancellor would have the role of all 3 branches of Government with the last occurrence being with Baron Falconer Of Thornton
3 Examples - Rights legislation since 1997
. Human Rights Act 1998
. Equalities Act 2010
. Freedom Of Information Act 2000
Example - Breaches of the ECHR by the UK (number of breaches between certain years and percentage of cases brought to the court)
The European Court Of Human Rights ruled against the UK 301 times between 1959-2014. And this was only 2% of cases brought against the UK Government to the Court
Example - Lack of clarity
The Supreme Court has to rule on whether the Governments prorogation of Parliament in 2019 was lawful (it wasn’t)
Example - Amount of countries with an uncodified constitution (name the definite examples)
Debated but less than 10. Definite examples include Israel, New Zealand, Canada and Saudi Arabia
Example - 6 Cities/Regions With Elected Mayors
London, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire
