sources of the constitution
Cards (7)
- statue lawrefers to acts of Parliament: the most important source of the GB constitution
- laws that define who can vote, e.g Representation of the People Act 1969 - voting age moved from 21 to 18
- statue law outranks all other sources of the GB constitution
- common lawrefers to the laws and rights passed down over the years by legal judgements in the courts: judicial precedence
- freedom of expression and criminality of murder
- common law is often modified by statue law - the state views murder as a crime whilst there not being a specific law declaring such; abolishing the Death Penalty in 1965
- Royal Prerogativerefers to the residual power exercised in the name of the Crown
- can range from having power to seek a dissolution/suspension (prorogation) of parliament, to issuing British passports
- monarch has a ceremonial role but is politically impartial
- can be seen as a key factor in boosting the power of the PM and exect.
- Conventionsrefers to generally agreed rules and procedures that are not written down, enabling politics and parliament to function effectively and smoothly
- most important convention: the monarch gives royal assent to all bills that have been passed down by both houses of parliament
- 1945 Salisbury-Addison Convention
- European Convention of Human Rights
- Works of Authorityrefers to the least visible and clear sources of the GB constitution - a variety of books and documents that deal with parliamentary procedures and the responsibility and duties of the govt and ministers
- Walter Bagehot’s ‘The English Constsitution’ (1867)
- A.V Dicey‘s ‘Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution’ (1885) - Twin Pillars
- International agreementsformal, legal binding agreements by which states and other subjects of international law, like international organisations, regulate matters of concern to them
- authoritative opinionworks written by scholars, who’re seen as experts on the Constitution, used as authoritative guides