Nature and Sources of the British Constitution

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  • Created by: ellabbear
  • Created on: 17-06-22 09:02
What first three acts show the early development of the British Constitution?
1. Magna Carta, 1215, establishing the rule of law and right to fair trial.
2. Bill of Rights, 1689, introducing Parliamentary privilege and free elections.
3. Act of Settlement, 1701, giving Parliament power over the line of succession.
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When was Great Britain formed?
The Acts of Union established the union of Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1801) with England to form Great Britain.
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How has the power of the Lords changed over time?
The power of the Lords has decreased over time, with the 1911 ( in response to the 1909 budget crisis, preventing delays to money bills and lowering all delays to two years) and 1949 (reducing all delays to one year) Parliament Acts.
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What are the five main principles of the UK constitution?
* Uncodified
* Unentrenched
* Unitary
* Underpinned by parliamentary sovereignty
* Underpinned by Rule of Law
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What are the five main sources of the British constitution?
* Statute law
* Common law
* Conventions
* Authoritative works
* Treaties
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What is statute law (+ example)?
Statute law is made up of all legislation made by Parliament, overriding all others. Statute law dealing with human rights or the nature of government is constitutional, such as the Equalities Act of 2010.
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What is common law (+ example)?
Common Law is essentially customs and judicial precedent (when judicial decisions clarify the meaning of statute or make rulings in the absence of statute). A lot of constitutional principles, such as the Royal Prerogative, are a part of common law.
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What is an authoritative work (+ example)?
Authoritative works are books or written guides to the working of the UK constitution. Although they are widely respected, they are not legally binding. An example of this source of the constitution would be Walter Bagehot’s ‘The English Constitution’.
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What are conventions (+ example)?
Conventions are traditions and practices that are accepted as rules because they are commonly followed, such as the convention that the Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in parliament. The 2011 Fixed Term Parliaments Act is an example of c
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What are treaties (+ example)?
Treaties are agreements signed with other countries, such as the Treaty of Accession, 1972, allowing the UK into the EEC, and the Maastricht Treaty, 1992, which established the European Union.
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What are some examples of human rights legislation in the UK?
* The ECHR was signed by the UK in 1953, before being later codified under the Blair administration in 1998 with the Human Rights Act.
* The Data Protection Act, 1984, gives the public access to their (non-security based) data.
* The Equality Act, 2010, l
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What are some examples of the Human Rights Act (1998) being used?
Abu Qatada, a terrorist suspect, was not able to be deported because evidence was gained through torture.
After the Hillsborough disaster, families of victims used the Human Rights Act to force an in-depth inquiry into the deaths.
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What evidence suggests that the Human Rights Act (1998) effective at protecting human rights?
* The Human rights Act enshrined a clear list of rights into UK law.
* The Human Rights Act must be complied with by new legislation.
* The Human Rights Act has meant that citizens can protect their rights through courts in the UK.
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What evidence suggests that the Human Rights Act (1998) ineffective at protecting human rights?
* The HRA has not been entrenched and can be replaced, as the Conservatives have planned to replace it with a ‘British Bill of Rights’.
* The Judiciary cannot use the HRA to overturn legislation that doesn't comply with it.
* The government can opt out of
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What Pressure groups are looking to extend protection of human rights?
* Liberty (the largest group) analyse policy and campaign to protect individual liberties - currently to end indefinite detention.
* Unlock Democracy (grassroots) campaign for a codified constitution to protect human rights and enact Proportional Represen
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What are individual and collective rights and how do they conflict?
Individual rights are the rights given to individual people, whereas collective rights protect groups and the public from harm. Sometimes, individual rights are sacrificed in favour of the rights of a larger group and vice versa. The HRA (1998) protects i
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What are some examples of conflict between individual and collective rights?
After 9/11, the government legislated to detain terror suspects (who threatened the rights of the public) without trial. This was ruled against by the Law Lords, because it was seen as discrimination (against their individual rights) and later repealed. 1
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What evidence says that the UK is a 'rights based culture'?
* All laws passed must comply with the Human Rights Act.
* The Judiciary can use the Human Rights Act to declare existing laws unfit, which promotes human rights in UK society and law-making.
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What evidence says that the UK isn't a 'rights based culture'?
* The government can ‘set aside’ the HRA, such as when the rights of terror suspects were set aside after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
* The Judiciary cannot use the HRA to overturn legislation that doesn't comply with it, only to declare it unfit.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

When was Great Britain formed?

Back

The Acts of Union established the union of Scotland (1707) and Ireland (1801) with England to form Great Britain.

Card 3

Front

How has the power of the Lords changed over time?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What are the five main principles of the UK constitution?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What are the five main sources of the British constitution?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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