The UK vs US Constitution

Created by: ljoy1801
Created on: 07-06-18 20:19


	The UK vs US Constitution
	Similarities The US constitution has parts which can be thought of as unwritten, such as the right for any couple to marry regardless of sexual orientation, which came from a supreme court ruling (Obergefell v Hodges 2015). The US disperses power through federalism, and although the UK's Westminster Parliament is sovereign, NI, Scotland and Wales have their own assemblies which have many devolved powers. The US Constitution has entrenched clauses, such as Article V which states that there will be universal suffrage. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 can be described as entrenched clauses of the UK uncodified constitution. In the UK, constitutional changes only really happen under majority governments, such as Tony Blair's Labour government from 1997-2007, in which devolution, the Human Rights Act and the Freedom of Information Act. In the US, if there was a united government with a large majority, in theory, constitutional changes could take place, but this is rare due to the long-held principle of limited government.	Differences The UK has an uncodified constitution whereas the American constitution is codified. The US constitution sets out a strict system of separation of powers, whereas the UK has a fusion of powers. The US constitution is a Presidential constitution, whereas the UK has a Parliamentary constitution. For a bill to become law and therefore become part of the constitution, it is simply passed through and voted on in Parliament (eg HRA 1998), but in America 2/3 of the states and senate must agree for an amendment to be added. The Supreme Court in the UK cannot declare primary legislation from Parliament as unconstitutional, whereas the American Supreme Court can do this for any Executive act or Act of Congress. Whereas many constitutional changes have happened in the UK in recent years, such as devolution and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, amendments to the American constitution have gained little support, with only 4 out of 12 being approved in the HOR and none being agreed upon in the Senate since 1995. Westminster Parliament is sovereign in the UK and promotes unitary government, whereas the American constitution promotes federalism. The USA constitution sets out the enumerated powers of Congress, whereas the powers of the UK parliament are harder to define, as they have grown through statute law, conventions and common law.
	Overall comparison Although on the surface the codified nature of the US Constitution seems to infer that it is rigid and inflexible in order to deter it from tyranny, under the surface it can be kept up to date and evolve through the times via Supreme Court rulings, like Obergefell v Hodges, which legalised same-sex marriage in America. Although the UK constitution is uncodified, many important acts are seen as impossible to remove, like devolution and the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, meaning they can be called entrenched. It seems that they are therefore more similar than they appear on the surface.

The UK vs US Constitution

Similarities

The US constitution has parts which can be thought of as unwritten, such as the right for any couple to marry regardless of sexual orientation, which came from a supreme court ruling (Obergefell v Hodges 2015).
The US disperses power through federalism, and although the UK's Westminster Parliament is sovereign, NI, Scotland and Wales have their own assemblies which have many devolved powers.
The US Constitution has entrenched clauses, such as Article V which states that there will be universal suffrage. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 can be described as entrenched clauses of the UK uncodified constitution.
In the UK, constitutional changes only really happen under majority governments, such as Tony Blair's Labour government from 1997-2007, in which devolution, the Human Rights Act and the Freedom of Information Act. In the US, if there was a united government with a large majority, in theory, constitutional changes could take place, but this is rare due to the long-held principle of limited government.

Differences

The UK has an uncodified constitution whereas the American constitution is codified.
The US constitution sets out a strict system of separation of powers, whereas the UK has a fusion of powers.
The US constitution is a Presidential constitution, whereas the UK has a Parliamentary constitution.
For a bill to become law and therefore become part of the constitution, it is simply passed through and voted on in Parliament (eg HRA 1998), but in America 2/3 of the states and senate must agree for an amendment to be added.
The Supreme Court in the UK cannot declare primary legislation from Parliament as unconstitutional, whereas the American Supreme Court can do this for any Executive act or Act of Congress.
Whereas many constitutional changes have happened in the UK in recent years, such as devolution and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, amendments to the American constitution have gained little support, with only 4 out of 12 being approved in the HOR and none being agreed upon in the Senate since 1995.
Westminster Parliament is sovereign in the UK and promotes unitary government, whereas the American constitution promotes federalism.
The USA constitution sets out the enumerated powers of Congress, whereas the powers of the UK parliament are harder to define, as they have grown through statute law, conventions and common law.

Overall comparison

Although on the surface the codified nature of the US Constitution seems to infer that it is rigid and inflexible in order to deter it from tyranny, under the surface it can be kept up to date and evolve through the times via Supreme Court rulings, like Obergefell v Hodges, which legalised same-sex marriage in America. Although the UK constitution is uncodified, many important acts are seen as impossible to remove, like devolution and the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, meaning they can be called entrenched. It seems that they are therefore more similar than they appear on the surface.

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The UK vs US Constitution