Explain and analyse the significance of three sources of the British constitution.

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  • Created by: lilya
  • Created on: 30-12-20 14:01
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  • Explain and analyse the significance of three sources of the British constitution. 
    • Statute law
      • law created by parliament, has to be approved by HoC, HoL and monarch.
      • Not all acts have constitutional significance as not all have bearing on relationship between the state and people
        • eg; dangerous dogs act 1991
      • significant because it is the supreme source of constitutional law, as parliament is sovereign
        • eg; Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. Scotland Act 1998, Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011
    • Common law
      • legal principles that have been discovered, developed and applied by courts.
        • judicial review allows for clarification when statute law is absent or unclear
        • forms body of LEGAL PRECEDENT that guides lower courts and future law makers
      • parliamentary sovereignty undermines significance as govt can overturn common law precedent
      • includes customs that are accepted legally binding. eg ROYAL PREOGATIVE
    • Authoritative works
      • long established legal and political texts used as reference points for constitutional law
      • no legal status, but hold persuasive authority, helpful in identifiying, interpreting core values of constitution
      • eg; Bagehot's The English Constitution 1867 and AV Dicey's 1885 explanation of rule of law and p.sovereignity

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joelkennedy

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Good resource

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