rebecca- intro to constitution

• Constitution

  A body of law, rules, and practices that sets out the way in which a state or society is organised. It defines the relationship between the state and its citizens, establishes the institutions that constitute the state, and regulates the relations between them. It's essentially a contract between citizens and the state
• Types of constitution

  • Codified
  • Uncodified
• Codified constitution

  • A single authoritative document that sets out the laws, rules, and principles by which a state is governed and protects the rights of citizens. Example: the US constitution
• Uncodified constitution

  • Rules, laws, and principles specifying how a state is governed are NOT gathered in a single document. They are found in a variety of sources, some written and some unwritten. Example: the UK constitution
• Functions of a constitution

  1. Determine how the political power should be distributed within the state

  2. Establish the political processes that make the systems work

  3. State what the limits of government power should be

  4. Assert the rights of citizens against the state

  5. Establish rules by which nationality is established

  6. Contain rules for its own amendments
• The UK constitution has no limits on government power
• The UK constitution does not have rules of amendment
• Development of the UK constitution

  1. Magna Carta, 1215: first written document to check the power of the King

  2. Bill of Rights, 1689: introduced free speech and free elections; checks and balances on the King

  3. Act of Settlement, 1701: monarchs must have been Protestant, and the king can't start a war on land that wasn't his

  4. Acts of Union, 1707: formation of Great Britain and the creation of a central Parliament

  5. Parliament Acts, 1911 & 1949: restrictions placed on the delaying powers in the HoL- allegedly resulted in an increase in citizen rights by limiting the power of unelected officials

  6. European Communities Act, 1972: signifies the UK’s joining of the EEC (now EU), integration of EU laws into UK legal system
• Parliamentary Sovereignty

  • The idea that Parliament has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all other government institutions, including executive or judicial bodies
• Rule of Law

  • All citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders
• Twin Pillars

  • A. V. Dicey's idea of twin pillars of the British Constitution, parliamentary sovereignty and rule of law, are used as reference points by politicians today in order to understand and explain the constitution