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Booklet 5: The constitution 1.1 - Coggle Diagram
Booklet 5: The constitution 1.1
Important documents
Magna Carta (1215)
This document formally established that no one, not even the king was above the law and as a result limitations were placed on the king's powers
Bill of Rights (1689)
This is a document that layered out that everyone had certain rights from birth and this further limited the king's power
Act of Settlement (1701)
Further limited the power of the king and reformed the line of succession by banning Catholics from becoming monarch
Acts of Union (1707)
This act solidified a treaty and merged Scotland and England to form Great Britain with one parliament
Parliament Acts
1911
This removed the right of the House of lords to delay financial bills such as the budget and they could only delay bills for up to two years
1949
This lowered the maximum time of delay in the house of lords from 2 years to 1 year
The European Communities Act (1972)
This incorporated the UK into the EU (known as the EEC then) and established that EU/EEC laws took precedence over UK laws
Nature of the Constitution
Unentrenched
A Constitution with no special procedure to amend it
Uncodififed
A Constitution not written into a single document
Unitary
A system where all legal sovereignty is contained in one place
The two pillars
Parliamentary Sovereignty
This is the idea that parliament is above all and as such any laws it passes cannot be overruled - it is not binding to its successor or predecessor and has the power to make or unmake any law it wants
Rule of Law
No one is above the law, not even the government
Main sources of the consititution
Authroitive works
These are works of media created by experts who have studied the constitution and how a specific part of it works
Example: The cabinet manual
Treaties
These are agreements signed between different countries internationally which is then incorporated into UK law
Example: The Maastricht treaty
Common Law
This is law this is set in procedure by the courts. This may help simplify or expand upon stature law and help define its interrepations
Example: R v R which helped broaden the definition of Rape to include Martial Rape
Stature Law
These are bills and legislation passed by parliament
Example: Fixed Term parliaments act 2011
Conventions
These are traditions that have been done for long time, there is no legal obligation to do them but there's a expectation to do it.
Example: the Prime Minister being the leader of the largest party