development of the UK constitution

• 1215 - Magna Carta

  • Right to fair trial, rule of law, habeas corpus - not being punished w/o due process
• 1689 - Bill of Rights

  • Limited monarchy, free elections, states Parliament is sovereign with the final say on legislation and finance
• 1701 - Act of Settlement

  • Judicial independence, established the monarch as the ruler of the UK
• 1707 - Act of Union

  • Unified Scotland, Wales and England
• 1911 and 1949 - Parliament Acts

  • Limiting the House of Lords, could not veto, lost power to regulate finances, could only delay legislation for a year
• 1972 - European Communities Act 

  • Provided precedent for EU law 
• 1998 - HRA 

  • Written guarantee of rights + ECHR
• 1998 - Scotland and Wales Act

  • Created devolved bodies and reestablished Scottish Parliament 
• 2005 - Constitutional Reform Act 

  • Established the UK SC