The British Constituion: Key Words

Question 0

Limited Government

Answer 0

A system in which the powers of government are subject to legal constraints, and checks and balances within the political system.

Question 1

Bill of Rights

Answer 1

An authorities statement of the right of citizens, often entrenched as part of a codified constitution.

Question 2

Fundamental Law

Answer 2

The law which forms the foundation of the government of a state.

Question 3

Entrenched

Answer 3

Secured; difficult to change

Question 4

Judicial Review

Answer 4

The power of senior judges to review the actions of government and public authorities, declaring them unlawful of they have exceeded their authority

Question 5

Statue Law

Answer 5

Law derived from Acts of parliament and subordinate legislation

Question 6

Common Law

Answer 6

Law derived from decisions in court cases and from general customs

Question 7

Royal Prerogative

Answer 7

Discretionary powers of the crown that are exercised in the monarch’s name by government ministers

Question 8

Conventions

Answer 8

Established norms of political behaviour rooted in past experience rather than law

Question 9

Sovereignty

Answer 9

Legal supremacy absolute law-making authority that is not subject to a higher authority

Question 10

Rule of Law

Answer 10

A system of rule where the relationship between the state and the individual is governed by law, protecting the individual from arbitrary state and action

Question 11

Civil Liberties

Answer 11

Fundamental individual rights and freedoms that ought to be protected from interference by the state

Question 12

Unitary State

Answer 12

A homogeneous state in which power is concentrated at the political centre and all parts of the state are governed in the same way

Question 13

Union state

Answer 13

A state in which there are cultural differences and where, despite a strong centre, different parts of the state are governed in slightly different ways

Question 14

Constitutional Monarchy

Answer 14

A political system in which the monarch is the formal head of state but the monarch’s legal powers are exercised by government ministers

Question 15

Cabinet government

Answer 15

A system of government in which executive power is vested in a cabinet, whose members exercise collective responsibility, rather than a single office

Question 16

Parliamentary government

Answer 16

A political system in which government takes place through parliament, and in which the executive and legislative branches are fused

Question 17

Prime ministerial government

Answer 17

System of government in which the prime minister is the dominant actor and is able to bypass the cabinet

Question 18

Legislature

Answer 18

The branch of government responsible for making law

Question 19

Executive

Answer 19

The branch of government responsible for the implementation of policy

Question 20

Judiciary

Answer 20

The branch of government responsible for interpreting the law and deciding upon legal disputes

Question 21

Fusion of powers

Answer 21

He intermingling of personnel in the executive and legislative branches found in parliamentary systems

Question 22

Political Soverignty

Answer 22

Absolute political power

Question 23

Globalisation

Answer 23

The widening and deepening interconnectedness between peoples and societies across the world in economic political, social and cultural activities

Question 24

Popular Sovereignty

Answer 24

Supreme authority resides with people

Question 25

Referendum

Answer 25

A vote in which the electorate is asked to express its view on a specific issue of public policy

Question 26

Westminster model

Answer 26

A form of government exemplified by the British political system in which parliament is sovereign, the executive and legislative are fused and political power is centralised

Question 27

Governance

Answer 27

A form of decision making in which a wide range of institutions networks and relationships are involved

Question 28

Sleaze

Answer 28

In politics, behaviour characterised by low standards by low standards of honesty or morality

Question 29

Unitary State

Answer 29

The central government is supreme, and the administrative divisions exercise only powers that the central government has delegated to them. The United Kingdom, for example, is a unitary state, as its constituent countries — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland — have no power to challenge the constitutionality of acts of Parliament.