rebecca- sources of the constitution

• Sources of the UK constitution

  • Parliamentary Statutes
  • Common Law
  • Conventions
  • Works of Authority
  • EU Law & Treaties
• Parliamentary Statutes


  • Laws created by parliament in the form of Acts of Parliament, implemented by the executive and enforced by the courts
  • Statute law is the supreme source of constitutional law because PARLIAMENT IS SOVEREIGN
• Historical statute laws in constitutional terms

  • Scotland Act, 1998
  • Human Rights Act, 1988
  • The Constitutional Reform Act, 2005
  • Fixed Term Parliaments Act, 2011
• Common Law

  • Development of laws through historical usage and tradition
  • Created when judges in the UK’s higher courts use their power of judicial review to clarify or establish a legal position where a statute law is unclear
• Conventions

  • Rules or norms of behaviour considered to be binding
  • Usage over an extended period of time gives them a degree of authority
• Works of Authority

  • Authoritative works that help identify, interpret, and understand the core values that underpin the constitution
  • Hold persuasive authority but no legal authority
• Works of Authority

  • Erskine May (1844)- regarded as the bible of parliamentary practice
  • AV Dicey (1885)- ‘twin pillars’ of the constitution
  • Walter Bagehot (1867)- set out the role of the cabinet and the PM
• EU Law & Treaties

  • UK's membership in the EU subject to the laws and judgements of the European Courts of Justice
  • EU law takes precedence over UK law
• UK's withdrawal from the EU has ultimately removed the 5th source of the UK constitution