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Nature and sources of the constitution - Coggle Diagram
Nature and sources of the constitution
Historical developments
Magna carta 1215
Barons placed limits on powers of monarchy. Established the principle that the crown is not above the law.
Bill of Rights
Gave legal force to certain rights and liberties. Included summoning of regular parliaments and free elections.
Act of Settlement
Parliament had the authority to determine succession to the throne. Created judicial independence by establishing a judge can only be removed on agreement of both houses of parliament
Act of union 1707
Created the united kingdom: united the parliament of scotland with the parliament of england of wales
Parliament acts 1911 and 1949
1911: House of lords lost their right to veto legislation to up to 2 years. They could not amend financial bills in the budget.
1949: Veto power degreaded to 1 year. Established the Common's democratic legitimacy and soverignity
Nature and features of the constitution
Unentrenched
Protects constitutional rules making it impossible for them to be altered without complicated procedures requiring the agreement of more than just the legislature.
When a constitution is unentrenched, the way in which the state is governed and the rights of its citizens can be changed simply with an act of parliament,
Uncodified and unitary
Uncodified: derives from a variety of sources and does not represent a higher law. judges cannot use this higher law to strike down violations.
Unitary: power is centralised and the central government possesses absolute authority.
Unitary state is opposite of a federal state, where power is shared and dispersed.
Twin pillars of parliamentary sovereignty
Parliament is the supreme law making body
The government must act according to rule of law
Parliament is the supreme law making body. It is free to enact any legislation for which it has parliamentary majority because there is no authority greater than Parliament that can veto this. Since each parliament is soverign, no parliament can enact legislation that can force its successor to act in a certain way.
Rule of Law
The same laws apply to every citizen and the government must act according to these laws.
What does a constitution do?
Determines where power is located within a nation state and the rules by which it is governed
Establishes the extent of the government's authority and the rights of its citizens
Sources
Statute law
Simply an act of parliament that has been approved by both houses and given royal assent.
Example: House of lords act 1999. Removed all but 92 hereditary peers from the house of lords.
Another example: Scotland act 1998, established a scottish parliament.
Common law
Judgments made by judges in important legal cases. Sets precedents to be followed in future legal cases. Referred to as 'judge made law'.
Particularly important for where statute law is vague and unclear.
Example: R v R 1991. Established in common law the case that a husband can be guilty of raping his wife. Until then there was no legal safeguard
Conventions
Represents the accustomed way in which political activity is carried out. They are not legally binding. Their significance comes from tradition.
Example: Salisbury convention. The house of lords cannot oppose the second or third reading of legislation that is in a winning party's manifesto.
Authoritative works
Texts that have a large amount of profounding significance and have some influence on the constitution
Example: 'The English Constitution' 1867, explains the relationship between the monarchy, legislature and executive.
Treaties
Written agreement made by two or more political entities. Parliament usually accepts a treaty that has been made by a foreign legislature.
Lisbon treaty as part of the EU 2009. However, the EU Withdrawl Act shows parliament has the right to repeal and accept treaties.