UK constitution Flashcards
What is parliamentary sovereignty?
Parliamentary sovereignty means that the parliament is the supreme legislative body. It makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK which can create or end any law.
* Parliament is also the supreme legislative body and legislation can’t be changed, struck down or ignored by the judiciary or the executive.
What is the rule of law?
The rule of law is that the same laws apply equally to every citizen and that the government is subject to the same law as everyone else.
What is unitary?
In a unitary state power centralised and the central government processes absolute authority.
- In the UK all power is centralised in parliament in westminister
- This power has been diluted in recent years due to devolution
- Many schloars would now refer the UK as a union state
What is federal ?
In federal state the power is shared and dispersed.The power of the central government is limited by the sovereign power of lower levels of government over which it has no authority.
Are british citizens rights protected and wh/ wh not?
As result of parliamentar sovereign the rights of british citizens are not protected b the higher law of the constituton as the are in e.g USA.
this is because the rights of british citizens have been traditionall seen as negative rights.
What are our civil liberties protected b?
In the uk the civil liberties are protected b:
-the principle that the government should act according to the rule of law
- the independance of the judicar from the government and the wa uin which judges interpret the law as according to the natural principles of natural justice.
What is a uncodified constitution?
An uncodified constitution- the uk is often said to be an unwritten constitution. it is largle written but in lots of documents but it has never been codified brought together.
What is statue law?
Statue law is all legislation that has been passed by parliamet
* is a parliamentary bill which has been approved by both houses of parliament and then given the roal assent.
* In uk there are no authorities greater than statue law.
* Statute law is the most important source of the constitution due to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. All other sources can be overridden by statute law.
What is statue law in the uk ?
Mometous acts of parliament contribute to the uk uncodifed constitution .
e.g
* For example, the 2005 Constitutional Reform Act created a separate Supreme Court.
* The 1918 Representation of the People Act which allowed all men and some women to vote.
What is the scotland act 1998?
Following the 1997 referendum in which scotland in favour of devolution the scotland act reestablished a scottish parliament
What is the human rights act?
Incorporates the european convention on human rights (ECHR) into british law
public bodies (government) are expected to act according to the ECHR and judges should interpretthe law according to ECHR
What is the equalit righs act 2010
the equalit act codifies into one parliamentar statue all previous antidiscriminar legilasion providing equal treatment
What is the marriage act 2013?
What is common law?
Common law refers to the judgements made b judges in important legal cases ( judge made law) common law cases set to be followed in future cases.
the way in which the judicayr interprets
- Common Law is made up of customs and judicial precedent (when judicial decisions clarify the meaning of statute or make rulings in the absence of statute).
- A lot of constitutional principles, such as the Royal Prerogative are a part of common law.
What does un entrenched mean?
**The UK constitution is unentrenched which means it can be changed by a simple act in parliament **
