nature and sources of constitution

• Statute Law

  • acts of parliament
  • e.g. Human Rights Act 1998
• Common Law

  • laws passed down by legal judgements
  • e.g. freedom of expression
• Royal Prerogative

  • monarch powers passed to the PM
  • e.g. prorogation of parliament - Johnson in 2019
• Conventions

  • unwritten rules and procedures
  • e.g. collective and individual ministerial responsibility
• Works of Authority

  • Walter Bagehot's - The English Constitution (1867)
  • A.V. Dicey's Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885)
  • Erksine May's Parliamentary Practice (1844)
  • The Cabinet Manual (2010)
• Magna Carta

  • 1215
  • limit the powers of the monarch
  • right to a fair trial
• Bill of Rights

  • 1689
  • frequent parliament
  • parliamentary privilege
  • dominance over the monarchy
• Act of Settlement

  • 1701
  • ensure a protestant heir to the throne
  • strengthens parliamentary sovereignty
• Parliamentary Acts

  • 1911 and 1949
  • reduced power in the House of Lords
  • prevented them from delaying 'money bills'
• European Communities Act

  • 1972
  • law had to conform to European laws
  • this challenged parliamentary sovereignty
• House of Lords Act 1999

  • removed all but 92 hereditary peers
  • introduced nominated life peers
• Constitutional Reform Act 2005

  • created the Supreme Court
• House of Lords Reform Act 2014

  • right to resign
  • remove peers for crimes or non-attendance
  • e.g. Baron Wolfson removed in 2017 for non-attendance
• Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Act 1977

  • allowed devolution to take place
• Greater London Authority Act 1999

  • elected mayor for London
• Fixed-term Parliamentary 2011

  • PM needs two-thirds of MP to call an early general election