The constitution

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Bill of rights
An authoritative statement of the rights of citizens often entrenched as part of a codified constitution.
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Limited government
A system in which the powers of government are subject to legal constraints, and checks and balances within the political system.
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constitution
The set of laws, rules and practices that create the baisic institutions of the state and its compnent and related parts and stipulate the powers of those institutions and the relationship between institutions and institutions and the individual.
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Constitutionalism
The theory and practice of government according to the rules and principles of a constitutional democracy is one which operates within the framework of a constitution that sets limits on the powers of government institutions.
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Codified constitution
A single document that sets out the laws, rules and principles on how a state is run and the rights of the citizens.
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Uncodified constitution
The rules by which a country is to be governed are not set out in one single document, they are instead found in written sources like statute laws, and unwritten sources like conventions
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Entrenched
Difficult to change
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Fundamental law
Law derived from decisions in court cases and from general customs.
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Judical review
The power of senior judges to review the actions of government and public authorities, declaring them unlawful if they have exceeded their authority.
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Common law
Law derived from decisions in court cases and from general customs.
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Convensions
Established norms of political behaviour rooted in past experience rather than the law.
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Royal prerogative
Discretionary powers of the crown that are exercised in the monarch's name by government ministers.
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Statute law
Law derived from acts of parliament and subordinate legislation.
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Parliamentary sovereignty
Parliament has absolute legal authority, it has legislative supremacy, may make law on anything it chooses and they may not be overturned. Devolution and the membership raise questions as to how meaningful this is.
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Civil liberties
Fundamental individual rights and freedoms that ought to be protected from interference by the state.
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Rule of law
A system of rule where the relationship between the state and the individual is governed by law, protectingthe individual from arbitary state action.
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Sovereignty
Legal supremecy; absolute law making authority that is not subject to a higher authority.
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Unitary constitution
A constitution in which sovereignty is located at the centre. Central government has supremacy over other tiers of government, which it can reform or abolish. A unitaty state is a centralised and power is is held in government.
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Federal constitution
It divides sovereignty between two teirs of government. Power is shared between national government Regional government is protected by the constitution: it cannnot be abolished or reformed significantly against its will.
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Union state
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.
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Unitary state
A homogeneous state in which power is concentrated at the political centre and all parts of the state are governed in the same way.
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Cabinet government
A system of government in which executive power is vested in a cabinet, whose members excercise collective responsibility, rather than a single office.
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Constitutional monarchy
A political system in which the monarch is the formal head of state but the monarch's legal powers are exercised by government ministers.
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Parlimentary government
A political system in which government takes place through parliament and in which the executive and legislative branches are fused.
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Prime misisterial government
A system of government in which the prime minister is the dominant actor and is able to bypass the cabinet.
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Executive
The branch of government responsible for the implementation of policy.
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Fusion of powers
The imtermingling of personnel in the executive and legislative bramches found in parliamentary systems.
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Judicary
The branch of government responsible for interpreting the law and deciding upon legal disputes.
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Legislature
The branch of government responsible for making law.
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Seperation of powers
The principle that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government should be independent of each other. They should have different functions and distinctive memberships which should not overlap.
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Elected dictatorship
The excessive concentration of power in the executive branch. It implies that the only check on the power of government is the need to hold general elections at regular intervals. Beyond this the government is regarded as free to do as it wishes.
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Political sovereignty
Absolute political power
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Globalisation
The widening and deepening interconnectednrdd between peoples and societies across the world in economic, political, social and cultural activities.
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Pooled sovereignty
The decision-making authority of the member states of an international organisation is combined. This is said to enhance the collective power and achieve the joint interests of the member states, producing outcomes that could not be reached
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Devolution
Devolution is the transfer of powers from centeral gpvernment to regional or subnational government. Sovereign authority is not divided but remains at the centre.
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Popular sovereignty
Supreme authority resides with the people.
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Referendum
A vote in which the electorate is asked to express its view on a specific issue of public policy.
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Westminster model
A form of governent exemplified by the British political system, in which parlaiment is soverign, the executive and legislature are fused and political power is centralised.
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Governance
A form of decision making in which a wide range of instirutions, networks and relationships are involved.
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Sleaze
In politics, behaviour characterised by low standards of honesty and morality.
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Quasi-federalism
This occurs when the central government of a unitary state devolves powers to subnational governments. It has some of the features of a unitary state and some of a federal state. Different policy frameworks operate within the state.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

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

Back

Limited government

Card 3

Front

The set of laws, rules and practices that create the baisic institutions of the state and its compnent and related parts and stipulate the powers of those institutions and the relationship between institutions and institutions and the individual.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

The theory and practice of government according to the rules and principles of a constitutional democracy is one which operates within the framework of a constitution that sets limits on the powers of government institutions.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

A single document that sets out the laws, rules and principles on how a state is run and the rights of the citizens.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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