Constitutional Law

• What are the sources of the UK constitution?

  Statute, case laws, conventions, royal prerogative, historical EU law, authoritative works.
• What are the 3 key institutions of the state?

  Executive branch, legislative branch, judicial branch.
• What are the key constitutional principles in the UK?

  The rule of law, separation of powers, royal prerogative, parliamentary sovereignty.
• What is a constitution?

  A set of rules and conventions which lay out the organisation of the state and set boundaries on the use of state power. A constitution aims to regulate the relationship between the different institutions of the state and regulate the relationship between the state and its citizens.
• What is Turpin's definition of a constitution in the UK?

  " A body of rules, conventions and practices, which regulate or qualify the organisation and operation of government in the United Kingdom"
• What is the definition of a constitution according to Wheare?

  "... it is used to describe the whole system of government of a country, the collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern the government … In almost every country in the world except Britain however, the word 'constitution' is used … to describe not the whole collection of rules, legal and non-legal, but rather a selection of them which has usually been embodied in one document or in a few closely related documents …"
• What are the characteristics of a constitution outlined in Modern Constitutions (1966) by Wheare?

  1. Written or unwritten
  2. Rigid or flexible
  3. Unitary or Federal
  4. Supreme or Subordinate
  5. Republican or Monarchical
• What are the characteristics of the UK constitution?

  1. Unwritten - Unlike the US, UK does not have a single written document instead they have a set of rules in various places. Making the UK a uncodified constitution (a body of rules from many different written and unwritten sources).
  2. Flexible - In the UK, Parliament can amend any law by simply passing a bill through Parliament. But the US constitution requires a strict procedure to amend laws as it is entrenched and rigid.