Constitution

Question 1

What are the purposes of the UK Constitution?

Answer 1

1. set out rules and regulations within which governments operate
2. establish composition, powers and function of institutions of state
3. regulate the relations between institutions of the state

Question 2

Features of the UK Constitution

Answer 2

• parliamentary sovereignty
• uncodified
• unitary
• flexible
• fusion of powers

Question 3

Sources of Constitution

Answer 3

• common law
• statute law
• conventions
• authoritative works
• EU Law

Question 4

What is common law ? Give an example.

Answer 4

the legal principles laid down by judges
e.g. the presumption that a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven guilty

Question 5

What is statute law ? Give an example.

Answer 5

body of law passed by parliament
e.g. 1998 Scotland Wales and NI Act created devolved legislative bodies

Question 6

What are conventions ? Give an example.

Answer 6

customs and practices that do not have legal force
e.g. royal prerogative / individual ministerial responsibility / collective ministerial responsibility

Question 7

What are authoritative works ? Give an example.

Answer 7

textbooks that explain the political system
e.g. Walter Bagehot’s ‘The English Constitution’ distinguished ‘dignified’ and ‘effective’ sections of constitution

Question 8

Give an example of EU law in the UK Constitution

Answer 8

Maastricht 1992

Question 9

What does uncodified mean?

Answer 9

the UK constitution is not in a single legal code or document
it comes from a number of different sources

Question 10

What does being unentrenched mean?

Answer 10

the UK constitution is easily altered
no special legal procedure like in the US

Question 11

What does being ‘unitary’ mean?

Answer 11

the sovereignty is contained in central government

Question 12

Give a quote to describe the nature of the UK Constitution

Answer 12

‘partly written and wholly uncodified’

Question 13

What are the disadvantages of the uncodified nature of the UK constitution?

Answer 13

• reflects the mood of the time
• difficult to amend e.g. difficulty of Brexit
• weak governments e.g. Blair faced 0 defeats between 1997 and 2005

Question 14

Name the developments of the UK Constitution

Answer 14

• Magna Carta
• Bill of Rights
• Acts of Settlement
• Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
• European Communities Act 1972

Question 15

How did the ‘Bill of Rights’ develop the UK Constitution?

Answer 15

• created notion of parliamentary sovereignty
• parliament must meet frequently
• elections must be free and fair

Question 16

How did the ‘Acts of Settlement’ develop the UK Constitution?

Answer 16

• monarch existed on parliament’s term
• monarch subordinate to Parliament

Question 17

How did the ‘Parliaments Act 1911 and 1949’ develop the UK Constitution?

Answer 17

1911 - Lords could block bills for two years
1949 - reduced Lords ability to block bills to one year

Question 18

How did the ‘European Communities Act 1972’ develop the UK Constitution?

Answer 18

• British Law subordinate to EU Law
• Impacts Britains control over immigration and trading

Question 19

What effect would a codified and entrenched constitution have on the public?

Answer 19

• educate them about constitutional issues
• promote greater respect for political institutions
• greater clarity about the rights of citizens and the power of governments clearing up any uncertainty

Question 20

How would a codified constitution mean greater clarity about the rights of citizens and the powers of government?

Answer 20

it would clear up the uncertainty arising from conventions governing the power of the PM / the circumstances in which a minister should resign / what happens in the event of a ‘hung parliament’ with no clear election winner

Question 21

What effect would a codified and entrenched constitution have on civil rights?

Answer 21

• create a Bill of Rights
• provide stronger protections of individual liberties than the current Human Rights Act (e.g. control orders 2005)

Question 22

What effect would a codified and entrenched constitution have on the amendment process?

Answer 22

• would not make it impossible to amend the constitution
• would instead entail a more orderly and careful process
• would reduce the chances of a government pushing through ill considered chnages

Question 23

How does an uncodified constitution fail to keep check on the government?

Answer 23

with an uncodified constitution there is tendency for governments to push the boundaries of what is political possible therefore increasing their own power

Question 24

How would a constitutional court increase the legitimacy of the political process?

Answer 24

a constitutional court would be staffed by senior judges with expert knowledge would be able to assess the constitutionality of actions by parliament and the executive judging their behaviour by a clear set of rules

Question 25

What is the public response to reforming the constitution to one that is entrenched and codified including a bill of rights?

Answer 25

- almost no public demand for this kind of change - it would be extremely difficult to find consensus on what to include in a codified constitution - such a project would probably entail years of debate and consultation

Question 26

What are the positives of an uncodified constitution in a modern society?

Answer 26

- allows for greater flexibility - the uk constitution is seen as an organic entity - able to adapt to political and social change (the examples of this are the constitutional reforms since 1997 which prove that the UK constitution is able to absorb change)

Question 27

What are the negative impacts of a codified constitution on the government?

Answer 27

the government would otherwise be unduly constrained by a codified constitution wouldn't be able to rapidly take decisions in changing situations e.g. countering the threat of terrorism

Question 28

How can the UK Constitution be argued to still provide clarity though it is uncodified?

Answer 28

Much of the historic constitution is written with acts of parliament and authoritative works providing clear guidance Few codified constitutions are self explanatory and they require extensive interpretation

Question 29

Who would a codified constitution put too much unjustified power in the hands of?

Answer 29

unelected unaccountable judges who may be out of touch with public opinion