uk constitution Flashcards
1
Q
what is a codified constitution?
A
- outlines the roles of dif branches and levels of gov and relationship between citizens & the state in a single document eg US
- normally written all at one pt in time, after extreme pol event, upheaval or change.
- ^ UK has never experienced such an extreme event so never been promoted to codfiy
2
Q
what is an uncodified constitution?
A
- draws upon multiple sources
- eg UK, Israel, New Zealand, Canada
- UK const partly written in statute law but much of our understanding comes from convention too
3
Q
what is an entrenched const? How can US const be changed?
A
- possess special mechanisms that protect them from short-term amendment
- it implies they are higher law not normal law
- US- 2/3 maj in both chambers of Congress is required to propose an amendment, 3/4 states must vote to ratify it
4
Q
what are unentrenched const?
A
- const laws or rules can be changed in the exact same way ordinary laws can be altered- via an Act of Parliament
- as PS, can amend const however and whenever it wishes in theory
- UK lack of entrenchment: Fixed Terms Parliament Act 2011- law intro by coalition government & stated GEs would be held at fixed intervals of five years- taking power away from PMs to call GEs within five years at a time of their choosing.
- a future Pa was always free to amend the FTPA, shorten or lengthen time between, or to repeal act all together
- so in 2022- BJ’s Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act repealed FTPA, returning power to PM to choose election dates
5
Q
what is a judiciable const?
A
- w a codified const, there is a two-tier legal system- entrenched, const arrangements become higher law
- so const is justiciable- becomes role of the highest court in that nation to determine what is constitutional or not and whether ordinary laws passed by a leg body comply with the higher law
6
Q
example of US judiciable const?
A
- law passed by Congress can be struck down by SC as being unconst using their judicial review
- 2013- SC struck down sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in the Shelby v Holder case. This law requires some southern states to seek special permission to change how people registered to vote, in am intention to prevent racist rules being reintroduced
- SC decided it violated const principle that all states should be treated equally
- This process requires judges to interp the meaning of const- when judges’ interps change, they effectively amend the const- INTERPRETIVE AMENDMENTS
7
Q
why is the UK non-judiciable?
A
- single- tier legal system with uncodified const- no distinction between const law & other laws
- UK, SC enjoys some judicial reviere power but given PS it has no ability to strike down laws it seems unconst (eg Rep of the People Act- prisoners- deemed incompatible w HR but pa refused to accept the decision)
8
Q
in effect, who decides what the UK const is at any one time?
A
- parliament, due to its lack of codification
- because gov usually dominates pa, means const is often in hands of gov- can act decisively (+under democratic control as van hold to account), yet can radically change it
9
Q
what is legal soveerignity? Is it in UK/US?
A
- defined as ultimate power and the source of all political power, as enforced by the legal system and the state. anybody that is granted it within a const holds power that cannot be overruled by any other body
- codified consts are themselves legally soverign- if any individual or body abuses const power, they must expect to be limited and sanctioned by the legal system
- in USA, the const is legally sovereign- systme of ‘constitutional sovereignity’ and it is the job of the supreme court to adjudicate when the rules set out in the const have been breached
- UK is dif- Pa is the legally soverigen body- system of parl sov-( legal sov lies under parl)
10
Q
what is a federal const?
A
- const divides ssov between central and regional bodies, w the dif ‘levels’ of government having their own distinct & protected responsibilities
- USA is most famous eg- US const born out of the deliberation of the 13 colonies (states)
11
Q
What is a unitary const?
A
sov resides in one location at the centre
- some power may be devolved to regions, but central authority retains the ability to take back this power and and overrule all other bodies
- UK
12
Q
why might ‘quasi federal state’ be a better description of the UK?
A
- whilst parl is supreme legal auth, in prac tise it has limited say over what happens in Sc, Wales, NI
13
Q
what are the three elements of parl sov in the UK?
A
- parl can make law on any matter it chooses- nothing is off limits
- parliamentary legislation cannot be struck down by a higher body, such as a SC
- no parl can bind its succesors- parl always has the power to repeal and undo and undo any previous legislation it has passed
14
Q
what is meant by the rule of law?
A
- main way the rights and liberties of citizens are protected
- everyone is untitled to a fair trial and due legal process
- all citizens must obey the law and are equal under it
- public officials are not above the law
- the judiciary must be independnet of political interference
15
Q
what is statute law? Why is it arguably the most imp sorce of the UK const?
A
- msde by [arl
- not all laws are of const imp- only those passed that affect how the country is governed are
- given parl is sov, it outranks all other sources of the const
16
Q
give an example of statute law with constitutional significance?
A
- Fixed term Parliament Act 2011
- introudcued by the coalition gov & stated that GEs would be helf every 5 years- took power away from PM to call elections within 5 years at a time of their choosing
- but as unentrencheed, future parls able to reverse/ change this- BJ in 2022- Dissolution and Calling of Parliament back- returned ppower to PM
- Constitutional Reform Act 2005 ( created UK SC )
- House of Lords Reform Act (removed all but 92 hereditary Peers from HoL)
- ^lab now 2024 all
17
Q
what is common law?
A
- laws developed by judicial rulings or precednts, est over time
18
Q
what is judicial precedent?
A
19
Q
what is a convention? are they more or less n’concrete’ than statute laws in uk const?
A
- sustoms or traditions that have endured throughout history- major means by which the const adapts to changing circumstances
- essential to the functioning of teh UK const
- largely upheld bc of the practical n& political consequences of not doing so. eg if monarch refused to give royal assent, would call into question the future of the monarchy
20
Q
describe 3 connstitutional conventions in the uk?
A
- how ministers within the gov should resign if they wish to publically criticise the gov- under the principle of ‘collective cabinet responsibility’
- how the HoL should not vote against laws which were incl in a gov’s GE manifesto - Salisbury Convention
- government resigns if it loses a GE/ if it were to lose a VONC
21
Q
what is an eg of a sonstitutional convention being broken?
A
- conventions are not legally enorcable:
- BJ closing parl down for Br deal- broke convetion
- conevntion: PM should allow HoC to vote on matters abt the UK’s armed forces military action abroad- emerged after TB allowed HoC to v on UK’s involvment in 2003 Iraq invasion
- but 2017- TM ordered strikes against Syrian regime w/o first putting this to HoC vote- ignored convention, said not enough time for it to be debated on
22
Q
what is an ‘authorative work’?
A
- documents written by constitutional experts explaining how a pol system is run
- not legally binding but are taken as signif guidlines as to how the const works
- eg AV Dicey’s ‘An Introdution to the Study of Law and the Constitution’ 1885- defines two pillars of UK const: parl sov & rule of law
23
Q
what was the 1972 European Communities Act?
A
European Communities Act (1972) was the piece of legislation that entered Britain into the European Economic Community which would later become the EU.
This gave EEC/EU law precedence over UK law in the case of a conflict.
The Brexit process involves repealing this act.
