UNIT 5: THE CONSTITUTION
What is a constitution?
- The rules that outline who has what powers and responsibilities
- A contract between the government and the people
- Two types of constitutions
- A codified constitution
- Written in a single document
- E.g. USA
- An uncodified constitution
- Not written in a single document
- Made up of a number of different sources
- E.g. UK
The functions of a constitution
- Determine how political power should be distributed within the state
- BOTH federal and unitary states
- Determine the balance of power between the institutions of government
- Establish the political processes that make the system work
- States limits on governmental power
- Assert the rights of citizens in relation to the state
- Establish the rules by which nationality is established (who is entitled to be a citizen)
- Contains the rules for its own amendment
Stages in the development of the UK Constitution
- Magna Carta (1215)
- Established that the rule of law should apply
- The Bill of Rights (1689)
- Stated that Parliament = sovereign and would have the final word on
legislation
- The Act of Settlement (1701)
- Established the legal rules governing the succession to the throne
- Established monarch’s position as ruler of the whole UK
- The Acts of Union (1707)
- Abolished the separate Scottish parliament
- The Parliament Acts (1911 and 1949)
- Settled relationship between House of Commons and House of Lords
- 1911 →Lords lost power to regulate public finances
- 1949 →Lords could only delay legislation for 1 year
- The European Communities Act (1972)
- Brought the UK into the European Community (later EU)
- The European (Notification of Withdrawal) Act (2017)
- Gave parliamentary consent to UK leaving EU
, The Nature of the UK Constitution
It is uncodified
- Not in a single document
- Still written
- ECHR = a well-known document
- Laws passed by Parliament (about 80% of constitution) = written
- To be codified, a constitution must have three features :
- It MUST be contained in a single document
- It MUST have a single source and therefore be created at one moment in
history
- The constitutional laws MUST be clearly distinguished from other,
non-constitutional laws
- Uncodified constitutions
- Multiple sources
- Slightly more confusing
- More flexible and easier to change
- Political system = more responsive to changing ideas
- 1997 →UK was quickly able to introduce gun regulations following the
Dunblane massacre
- Less effective at protecting rights
It is unentrenched
- Entrenchment means constitutional rules are well-protected and difficult to change
- Constitutional reforms are removed from the hands of a temporary
government
- Requirements are put in place to ensure:
- There is widespread support for a reform
- That it is in the country’s long-term interests
- In the UK, every new Parliament can amend the constitution as it wishes
- As the government is normally able to dominate Parliament through a majority in the
Commons, it can effectively control the constitution
- E.g. when Parliament passed the Human Rights Act in 1998
- No special procedures needed
- The problem of the UK’s failure to adopt any system of entrenchment was illustrated
by the Fixed Terms Parliament Act 2011
- After 2010, the new coalition government wanted to introduce fixed-term
Parliaments
- Proposed a law stating that each new Parliament should sit for a fixed term of
5 years before the next general election
- 2017 and 2019 general elections = 2 years apart
- Shows that the Act did not have a lasting impact
What is a constitution?
- The rules that outline who has what powers and responsibilities
- A contract between the government and the people
- Two types of constitutions
- A codified constitution
- Written in a single document
- E.g. USA
- An uncodified constitution
- Not written in a single document
- Made up of a number of different sources
- E.g. UK
The functions of a constitution
- Determine how political power should be distributed within the state
- BOTH federal and unitary states
- Determine the balance of power between the institutions of government
- Establish the political processes that make the system work
- States limits on governmental power
- Assert the rights of citizens in relation to the state
- Establish the rules by which nationality is established (who is entitled to be a citizen)
- Contains the rules for its own amendment
Stages in the development of the UK Constitution
- Magna Carta (1215)
- Established that the rule of law should apply
- The Bill of Rights (1689)
- Stated that Parliament = sovereign and would have the final word on
legislation
- The Act of Settlement (1701)
- Established the legal rules governing the succession to the throne
- Established monarch’s position as ruler of the whole UK
- The Acts of Union (1707)
- Abolished the separate Scottish parliament
- The Parliament Acts (1911 and 1949)
- Settled relationship between House of Commons and House of Lords
- 1911 →Lords lost power to regulate public finances
- 1949 →Lords could only delay legislation for 1 year
- The European Communities Act (1972)
- Brought the UK into the European Community (later EU)
- The European (Notification of Withdrawal) Act (2017)
- Gave parliamentary consent to UK leaving EU
, The Nature of the UK Constitution
It is uncodified
- Not in a single document
- Still written
- ECHR = a well-known document
- Laws passed by Parliament (about 80% of constitution) = written
- To be codified, a constitution must have three features :
- It MUST be contained in a single document
- It MUST have a single source and therefore be created at one moment in
history
- The constitutional laws MUST be clearly distinguished from other,
non-constitutional laws
- Uncodified constitutions
- Multiple sources
- Slightly more confusing
- More flexible and easier to change
- Political system = more responsive to changing ideas
- 1997 →UK was quickly able to introduce gun regulations following the
Dunblane massacre
- Less effective at protecting rights
It is unentrenched
- Entrenchment means constitutional rules are well-protected and difficult to change
- Constitutional reforms are removed from the hands of a temporary
government
- Requirements are put in place to ensure:
- There is widespread support for a reform
- That it is in the country’s long-term interests
- In the UK, every new Parliament can amend the constitution as it wishes
- As the government is normally able to dominate Parliament through a majority in the
Commons, it can effectively control the constitution
- E.g. when Parliament passed the Human Rights Act in 1998
- No special procedures needed
- The problem of the UK’s failure to adopt any system of entrenchment was illustrated
by the Fixed Terms Parliament Act 2011
- After 2010, the new coalition government wanted to introduce fixed-term
Parliaments
- Proposed a law stating that each new Parliament should sit for a fixed term of
5 years before the next general election
- 2017 and 2019 general elections = 2 years apart
- Shows that the Act did not have a lasting impact
