UK Constitution

Question 1

Where is statute law written?

Answer 1

Parliament

Question 2

What is a constitution?

Answer 2

A written document

Question 3

What are constitutions designed to do?

Answer 3

• Set out rules and regulations within which the government operates
• establish composition, powers and functions of the institutions of the state
• enshrine the legal rights and duties of those that live in the country

Question 4

Describe codified constitutions

Answer 4

• largely written
• centered around a single document
• binding

Example:
White House and congressman are binded together due to written constitution

Question 5

Describe uncodified constitutions

Answer 5

Eg UK doesn’t have have a codified constitution

• it’s an unwritten constitution
• it’s derived from mainly statue law (laws passed by parliament)

Question 6

Why is statute law important?

Answer 6

• important for determining powers and scope of government and conduct of elections
• conventions, unwritten understandings and customs are binding eg. It’s a convention that the queen signs acts of parliament passed by both houses and that the government should resign after losing a vote of “no confidence “

Question 7

Describe constitutional authority

Answer 7

• Derived from common law (legal principles and precedents established by judges decisions)
• common law has been replaced by statute law but is still fundamental in constitutional principles eg royal prerogative and parliamentary sovereignty

Question 8

Describe Royal Prerogative

Answer 8

• gives the Crown special powers: the power to declare war, make treaties , pardon criminals and to dissolve parliament
• the role of the monarch is largely ceremonial but still RP gives considerable powers to government ministers acting on queens behalf

Question 9

Describe parliamentary sovereignty

Answer 9

Parliament can make or unmake any law on any subject.

• they’re not bound by decisions of pre parliament and future parliament (dicey supports this view)
• there is no higher body such as Supreme Court however
• PS is challenged by Uk’s membership to the EU. So EU is legally superior and is protect by the European Court of Justice.
• European Community law prevails over UK law
• this will obvs change once we leave the EU

Question 10

Why we should have a written constitution

Answer 10

-very few democracies don’t have one
-it would provide clarity
- a written constitution would increase the judiciary’s power
-it would offer protection if an extremist came into power cough cough Donald trump
-without one, UK has no Bill of Rights to protects citizens from an over powerful state
Existing Human Rights provide only weak protection
-a written constitution with a proper Bill of Rights would provide much stronger protection for the rights of the citizen

Question 11

Why we shouldn’t have a written constitution

Answer 11

• we’ve survived well until now without one
• it means no parliament can bind its successors or predecessors so if we didn’t have one then this doctrine is useless
• it means our laws are more flexible
• it makes is unique, other countries model their system from ours so we must be doing something right!