what are the sources of the uk constitution

Question 1

statue law

Answer 1

an lawn made by parliament , also known as an act of parliament
EXAMPLE
the succession of the crown act 2013 changed the line of succession for the monarchy
the marriage (same sex couples) act 2011 protected the rights of same sex couples

Question 2

Common law

Answer 2

rules made by judges who have had to interpret statute law when it has been unclear . this is often done through judicial review .
EXAMPLE
in Miller v PM 2019 the supreme court of the UK ruled that the prime minster did not have the right to prorogue parliament in the circumstances that he had

Question 3

conventions

Answer 3

unwritten traditions that have influence over how a poltical system works
EXAMPLE
the Salisbury convention is the the House of Lords cannot reject bills that have been apart of the winning party manifesto as they have a mandate
royal assent is expected from the monarch on bills passed by parliament

Question 4

authoritative works

Answer 4

books written by poltical scholars outline how the UK political system works. They have no legal standing but are recognised a useful guides.
EXAMPLE
A.V Dicey outlined the principles of palriamentary sovereignty
Walter Bagehot described the ‘ fused’ powers of the UK gov in his book the English constitution
Erskine May is consider the ‘ bible ‘ of parliament ad outlined procedures such as the humble address which was used in 2017 to force the governments impact assessments on the effect of Brexit

Question 5

treaties and agreements

Answer 5

agreements that have been made between the UK and other countries or supranational organisations
EXAMPLE
the UK is a founding member of the council of Europe , the councils court is the European court of human right which has influence over the uk . the European convention on human rights was adopted by the Uk as the human rights act in 1998

Question 6

despite the range of sources it is important to remember that parliament is sovereign and can ignore or pass a new statute law to overturn any source parliament dislikes

Answer 6

EXAMPLE
the UK government ignored the ruling of Hirst v UK 2005 from the European convention on human rights which said that prisoners should have the right to vote
the UK govenemnt used statute law to both enter the European community and later leave the European union
the Salisbury convention was suspended for the duration of the coalition as no party had won a majority for its manifesto