nature or principlies of the UK constitution Flashcards
main principles
Parliamentary sovereignty
Unentrenched
Rule of Law
Uncodified
Unitary State
parliamentary sovereignty
The principle that parliament has ultimate authority/the final say on the law
Parliament can make laws on any subject
Parliament has, ultimately, the final say on any law; there is no higher authority
Parliament cannot bind its successors: A new
Parliament can undo all laws made by previous
Parliaments
example of parliamentary sovereignty
In 2019 Boris Johnson wanted to leave the EU without a deal - a ‘No Deal Brexit’.
Parliament proposed a law (‘the Benn Act’) that would stop the UK leaving without a
deal. Johnson’s government was against that law blocking a ‘No Deal Brexit’, but a
majority in the House of Commons voted for it, so it became law, and Johnson had to
negotiate a deal. It’s Parliament that decides whether something becomes law, not the
government. (although the government party has a majority in the House of
Commons, so it usually gets its way in Parliament – but not always)
developments that have undermined the sovereignty of Parliament.
EU membership
Referendums
Devolution
Supreme Court
rule of law
The principle that the law applies equally to everybody; the government is not above the law
Nobody is above the law, neither citizens or
government.
Everyone is equal before the law.
sometimes undermined. Sometimes the government tries to do things that are not legal.
rule of law being undermined
In the ‘War on Terror’, the government has tried to introduce measures like indefinite detention, going against the Human Rights
Act (right to a fair trial), thereby breaking the law.
party gate
Who enforce the rule of law?
The courts enforce the rule of law, and can stop the government when it does something illegal
what can the government do if it doesn’t like a law
It can change the law! And if it has a majority in
Parliament, it is able to do so. The courts work with whatever laws Parliament makes.
unitary state
A country governed as one single unit with a strong central government, in which regional administrations have powers that the
central government chooses to delegate.
To what degree does that still apply to the UK? - unitary state
Devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland means that since 1999 the UK has regions with regional governments, making regional laws
Does that mean the UK is now a federal, not a unitary state?
Not quite
Not all parts of the UK have such a regional government – England doesn’t
The regional governments are not guaranteed in a codified constitution; the UK Parliament can repeal them
Why can it do so?
Parliamentary sovereignty; they are created with Acts of Parliament (e.g. the Scotland Act 1998) – Parliament can make and unmake any law
parliament taking over NI
In Northern Ireland something similar actually happened
In January 2017 the DUP-Sinn Fein coalition government of Northern Ireland collapsed. The parties could not agree about a new
coalition … for months …. and months.
In the meantime devolution was ‘suspended’, and Northern Ireland was governed by the UK government temporarily.
The UK Parliament made use of this in 2019 to pass laws legalising abortion and gay marriage in Northern Ireland. The UK government
warned that if the Northern Irish parties didn’t come to an agreement, devolution would be permanently suspended.
The British government has made an order under Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. - 2023
