UK Constitution Flashcards
What are the core objectives of constitutionalism?
- Govt power exercised within legal limits
- Power dispersed/not concentrated in one body/person
- Govt accountable to the people
- Fundamental rights and freedoms
What is Dicey’s definition of a constitution?
That set of rules which directly or indirectly affect the distribution and exercise od sovereign power in the state
What areas can the functions of the state be divided into?
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Who is the UK’s sovereign body
The legislature - parliament
Is ‘the UK has no written constitution’ accurate?
No- it is ‘uncodified’
Where do constitutional rules come from?
Constitutional legislation
Case Law
Constitutional conventions
What did Thoburn say would form constitutional legislation
One which conditions the legal relationship between citizen and state and
Englarges/diminishes the scope of fundamental constitutional rights
How are constitutional conventions described?
- Informal rules of political practice
- Evolutionary
- No clear source in legislation/case law
What are the significant conventions relating to the legislature?
HoL defer to HoC
Salisbury Convention
Financial bills - minister
Sewel Convention
HoC consulted before major foreign policy initatives
What is the Salisbury convention?
HoL shouldn’t reject at second reading legislation that carries out a manifesto commitment
What is the Sewel convention?
Westminster Parliament won’t legislate on devolved matters without consent of devolved administration
What are the significant conventions relating to the executive?
Monarch = ministers advice
No refusing royal assent
Monarch appoint PM
PM chooses cabinet
PM/Chancellor = MPs
Vote of no confidence
What are the significant conventions relating to the judiciary?
Not politically active
Parliament not criticise their professional conduct
What are the key functions of parliament?
Debate/scrutinise proposed legislation
Propose amendments
Hold executive to account
Scrutinise public expenditure/taxation
Who makes up the Executive?
Monarch, PM and cabinet, Govt depts
What are the core govt depts for constitutional law?
Cabinet office
Foreign office
Home office
Ministry of Justice
Treasury
Where do government departments derive their powers from?
Statute or common law
What does exercise of prerogative power mean today?
Exercise of power by the government without parliamentary approval
How are accounting officers appointed?
By the treasury
Can allocation of funds to government departments be done by prerogative power?
No - requires parliamentary approval
What is delegating power?
Lawful exercise of power granted to a minister by legislation/common law, to a government official of lower rank in the same department
What is the Carltona principle?
The actions of government departments is synonymous with the actions of the minister in charge
What is the legal me mechanism by which people can claim the government has acted beyond its powers in law and to which court?
Judicial review - administrative court
What constitutional principles are the government subject to?
Laws may not be suspended
Taxation requires consent of Parliament
Habeus corpus
Freedom from arrest
Impeachment
What is the role of the judiciary?
Determine outcome of legal disputes
Decide appropriate punishment for criminal cases
Interpret legislation
Judicial review - govt lawfully exercised powers
What key changes did the constitutional reform act 2005 make?
Lord chancellor - Lord chief justice
Established Supreme Court
Created judicial appointments commission
How is the Lord chancellor appointed?
By king on advice of PM
What is the role of the Lord chancellor?
Administration of court system
Secretary of State for justice
What are the statutory safeguards to prevent excessive influence by the Lord chancellor?
Legal duty to uphold independence of judiciary
Must not seek to influence particular judicial decisions
How is the Lord chief justice appointed?
Special panel convened by Judicial Appointments Commission
What are the responsibilities of the Lord chief justice?
Represent views of judiciary to parliament
Welfare, training and guidance of judiciary
Deployment of judges/allocation of court work
What is the principle of non-justiciability?
Courts have no/limited jurisdiction to decide whether an act is lawful
What are the three reasons lady hale have for judges being guardians of the constitution?
Rule on validity of laws passed by delegated legislatures
Restrict government to exercise powers within parliaments limits
Protect fundamental rights against encroachment by the state
When did England and Scotland unite to form Great Britain?
1707
What are the devolved legislatures?
Scottish Parliament
Scottish government
Senedd (Welsh Parliament)
Welsh government
Northern Ireland assembly
Northern Ireland executive
What is the enabling act for Scottish devolved legislation?
Scotland act 1998/2016
What is the enabling act for devolved Welsh legislation?
Government of Wales act 1998/2016
Wales act 2017
What is the enabling act for devolved northern Irish legislation?
Northern Ireland acts 1998/2006
What are reserved matters?
Decisions still taken in Westminster
Who does responsibility for fiscal policy and public expenditure belong to?
HM treasury
What does section 28(8) Scotland act 1998 say?
Uk Parliament will not normally legislate on devolved matters without consent of Scottish Parliament
How is consent for uk to legislate on devolved matters shown?
Legislative consent motion
What does section 28(7) Scotland act 1998/s5(6) NI Act/s107(5) GOWA say?
Lack of consent can be overridden
How is the Northern Ireland executive ran?
Power sharing model - first minister and deputy first minister from two largest parties
Who can decide whether legislation of devolved governments goes beyond their scope?
Supreme Court
What are the monarchs remaining powers? (Limited by constitutional convention)
Appointing PM
Dissolving Parliament
Royal assent
What are some of the remaining prerogative powers?
Summoning, proroguing and dissolving Parliament
Appointing/dismissing ministers
Mobilising armed forces/declaring war
Negotiating treaties
