British Constitution

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  • British Constituion
    • Statue Law
      • Statute Law is created by parliament.
        • The Human Rights Act (1998) which enshrined rights in UK Law.
      • Acts of Parliament have to be approved by the House of Commons, the Lords and the monarch book before they are placed on the statue book (I.e Gain the force of Law)
      • They are then implemented by the executive and enforced by the courts.
      • Statue Law is the most important source of the principles and rules making up the British constitution because Parliament is the sovereign body.
        • The Fixed Term Parliaments Act (2011) which established fixed term elections for Westminster.
      • Examples Include: the European Communities Act 1972, by which the UK joined the EEC.
        • The Scotland Act (1998) which created a Scottish Parliament.
    • Common Law
      • Includes legal principles that have been developed and applied by UK courts.
      • The courts interpret and clarify the law where there is no clear statute law.
      • Common law is is thus legal precedent made by judges concerning, for example, the rights of homeowners to tackle intruders.
        • Such case law becomes part of the body of the common law and serves as a guide to future law makers.
        • In recent years however, Judges have been more likely to look to the Human Rights Act (1998) then to common law.
          • Because government ministers may clarify or amend common law through acts of parliament.
      • The Royal Prerogative- Powers exercised in the name of the crown. Include: Giving royal assent to legislation, Declare war and negotiate treaties, Appoint Minsters.
        • Many of these powers are exercised by government ministers in the name of the Crown. The Brown Government and the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government introduced measures limiting the royal prerogative and enhancing the role of parliament.
        • The prerogative power to dissolve parliament was ended by the fixed term parliament act in 2011.
    • Coventions
      • Conventions are rules or norms that are considered to be binding. They are neither codified nor enforced by courts of law.
      • They are established norms of political behaviour rooted in past experience rather than the law.
      • This is why the British Constitution is seen as flexible because some of it's key elements are based on convention.
      • Recent Governments have created what may become seen as new convention.
        • Brown announced that the UK would not declare war without a parliamentary vote.
      • The Status of conventions is also clarified in the Cabinet Manual, it features 11 chapters covering the   role of the monarch, elections, collective cabinet decision making and government formation.
      • Conventions have been an imprecise guide to what should be considered constitutional
        • Convention dictates that the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons after a general election will be invited to form a government.
        • The circumstances under which government ministers ought to resign are also governed by convention.
        • The Salisbury convention states that the House of Lords should not vote down or wreck bills that seek to enact a manifesto
    • Authorative Works
      • A number of established legal and political texts have become accepted as works of authority on the British Constitution.
      • These texts have no formal legal authority but they do have 'persuasive authority' as guides to the workings of institutions and the political system in general.
        • Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament (1844) is regarded as the bible of parliamentary practise, providing a detailed guide to it's rules and practices.
        • The English Constitution (1867)  Set out the role of the cabinet and the prime minister, describing the latter as 'first among equals'
      • They prove helpful in interpreting the core values that underpin the constitution.
    • European Union Law
      • Legislation emanating from the EU and judgements of the European Court of Justice have all become a part of the British Constitution.

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