Sources of the British Constitution

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Sources of the British Constitution

As the UK does not have a codified document, we have look for the key rules and practices of the British system in a number of places:

~ Statute Law
~ Common Law
~ Royal Prerogative
~ Conventions
~ Authoritative Works
~ International Treaties and Agreements

Statute Law:

This is law crated by Parliament. Acts of Parliament are approved by the Commons, Lords and the Monarchs, gain the force of law, and are then implemented by the executive and enforced by the courts.

Any law that involves constitutional relationships becomes part of the constitution. Examples of this include the Parliament Act of 1911 (established the dominance of the House of Commons), the European Communities Act of 1972 (by which the UK joined the EEC) and the Human Rights Act of 1999 (which enshrined key rights into UK law)

Statute Law is the most important source of the UK constitution as, under the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty, the UK Parliament is the supreme law-making body.

Common Law:
This is law that has been developed and applied by UK courts.

Where there is no clear statute law, the courts have to interpret and clarify the law.

As no law is so precise that it needs no interpretation, judges are constantly contributing to the constitution.


Royal Prerogative:

This refers to discretionary powers of the Crown that are employed by Government Ministers in the name of the Monarch.

The Crown retains a number of powers that date back to before Britain became a constitutional monarchy in the C17th. These include the power to declare war, to dissolve parliament, to appoint government ministers and judges.

Today these powers lie with the Prime Minister and Government Ministers, the Prime Minister will inform the Monarch of their decision but the Monarch has not real power to veto their chosen course.

Conventions:
These are habits, norms and rules that through long usage have come to be considered binding on those who should abide by the constitution. They are neither codified nor enforced by courts of law, and as such there is no punishment if there are breached.

Conventions include individual and collective ministerial responsibility.

Conventions may not have the force of law, but breaking them can have political repercussions. For example if a minister refuses to resign in the light of mistakes made in their department, then the minister’s position is weakened, they are open to parliamentary and media criticism, and this can even reflect on the authority of the Prime Minister.

Authoritative Works/Academic Opinion:
Some famous commentators have, through political and legal texts, become such influential observers and commentators on the UK constitution that their works have become accepted as works of authority on the UK constitution.

The most famous examples (all C19th) are:
~ Walter Bagehot’s “The English Constitution”
~ Erskine May’s “Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and Usage of Parliament”
~ AV Dicey’s “An introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution”

They act as guides, for both those who study the UK system and those who are involved in the UK system, to the workings of the institutions and political system.

International treaties and agreements:
By the signing international treaties and agreements (with groups such as the UN and NATO) the British Constitution is constantly being added to.

The most significant new source of the Constitution in recent years has been the EU. When Britain sighed the Treaty of Rome in 1972, the superiority of European Law was accepted, and parliament was no longer sovereign (although the UK can leave the EU any time it wishes). Thus British Courts now have the power to review Acts of Parliament and in the light of EU legislation, to suspend Statute Law.

Today all legislating from the EU and judgments from the European Court of Justice become part of the UK constitution

http://www.thinkhistory.btinternet.c...nstitution.htm