The Sources of the UK Constitution

Statute law

Created by parliament

Approved by Commons, Lords and monarch

Implemented by executive

Enforced by the courts

Not all Acts are of constitutional significance

1991 Dangerous Dogs Act

Supreme source of constitutional law

1832 Great Reform Act

1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts

1972 European Communities Act

Common law

Derived from general customs or traditions and the decision of judges

Judicial review

Clarify or establish legal position

Legal precedent for lower courts

Parliament can overturn

Acts of Parliament

Statute law

Unlawful > Unconstitutional

Legally binding conventions

Royal Prerogative

Appoint ministers

Royal assent

Declare war

Negotiate treates

21st Century

Limit power

Fixed - term Parliaments Act 2011

Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010

Conventions

Rules or norms of behaviour

Binding

Not codified or enforceable

2011 Cabinet Office Manual

Monarch must give royal assent

Not refused since 1707

Brown

UK could not declare war without parliamentary vote

Authoritative works

Long - established legal and political texts

Persuasive authority

No legal status

Identifying, interpreting and understanding

Erskine May: A treatise on the law, privileges, proceedings and usage of Parliament (1844)

Walter Bagehot: The English Constitution

A. V. Dicey: An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1855)

European Union law

European Court of Justice

Takes precedent

EU Referendum

Great Repeal Bill

Incorporate all existing EU law into statue law