Civilisation des îles britanniques

CONTENTS

THE CONSTITUTION

        PREAMBLE

1. GOVERNMENT AND PARLIAMENT

1. Flexibility
2. Royal Prerogative
3. Key Principles
4. Article from The Guardian
5. The Monarchy
6. Cabinet Government
7. Relationship with Parliament
8. Prime Ministerial Power
9. Shadow Cabinet
10. Excerpts from “The English Constitution” and “The End of the House of Windsor”

PARLIAMENT

1. The House of Commons

Officers

Procedure

Committees

Legislative Functions

Current Composition

1. The House of Lords

Officers

Procedure

Committees

Judicial Functions

Relationships with the Government

Current Composition

Article from The Guardian

        II Political Parties and the Electoral System

1. Brief History and Overview
2. Register of Political Parties
3. Major Political Parties in the UK
4. Members and Elections

III. The Scottish Parliament

1. History
2. Committees
3. Legislative Function
4. Constitution and Powers
5. Voting System
6. Latest Election
7. Criticism

IV. The Welsh Assembly

1. History
2. Powers and Status
3. The Richard Commission
4. The Electoral System
5. Composition of the Assembly

V. The Northern Ireland Assembly

        a. History

        b. “Virtual” Assembly

        c. Composition

        d. Powers and Functions

        e. Organisation

VI International Relations

1. The European Union
2. The United States of America
3. The Commonwealth of Nations
4. The Republic of Ireland
5. Territorial Disputes

AVANT  PROPOS.

Bonjour à tous,

Vous aurez deux supports pour ce cours :

 le CM, dont vous trouverez le corps complet du cours ci-joint qui porte essentiellement sur les institutions du Royaume Uni, sur son système politique et ses récentes évolutions, notamment celles issues des grandes réformes des gouvernements. La question constitutionnelle sera également abordée dans les chapitres ci-joints et en cours par le biais de documents très récents, puisque la crise du ‘Brexit’ qui se pose aujourd’hui représente un évènement historique de première importance.

Le TD, , comprenant des conseils méthodologiques concernant le commentaire de texte, une bibliographie qui n’est évidemment ni exhaustive ni limitative, et un corpus de textes historiques et d’articles de journaux qui illustrent certaines parties du CM ou les complètent .

Dans l’immédiat, je vous propose également un autre exercice ci-dessous, il s’agit d’un exposé sur une question de cours,  vous pourrez me rendre votre production jusqu’au 26 janvier 2013, de façon à ce que nous puissions travailler rapidement sur une correction dès le début des cours.

Il me reste à vous souhaiter une excellente année universitaire et la meilleure réussite possible à vos examens,

Amicalement,

Yann Bévant

SUJET 

Comment on the following statement :

“Law is not and cannot be a substitute for politics [...] For centuries political philosophers have sought that society in which government is by laws and not men. It is an unattainable ideal. Written constitutions do not achieve it. Nor do Bills of Rights or any other device. [...] It is not by attempting to restrict the legal powers of governments that we shall defeat authoritarianism. It is by insisting on open government”

                J.A Griffith, London School of Economics and Political Science

To what extent do you think Pr Griffith’s point of view could be epitomized, or on the contrary challenged, by the British constitutional example ?

The Constitution

Preamble

The Constitution of the UK consists in both written and unwritten sources. There is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered "constitutional law" which implies that Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply through Acts of parliament. In      1911 for instance, it was through an ct of Parliament that the powers of the House of Lords were cut down and the preeminence of the House of Commons firmly established.  The status of local authorities also depends on Acts of Parliament: in 1983 for instance, Mrs Thatcher abolished Metropolitan County Councils. In a more recent past, devolution -that is to say the creation of a Parliament in Scotland and of an assembly in Wales- was also carried out through an Act of Parliament. The constitution is therefore clearly based on the concept of all sovereignty ultimately belonging to Parliament . The lack of a central written constitutional document as it exists in France, Germany or the United States for example  has led some constitutionalists to regard the United Kingdom as having no formal constitution. The phrase "unwritten constitution" is sometimes used, but it is partly inaccurate, as  the UK constitution incorporates many written sources, many being today of European origin, such as the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or EC regulations. At all events, statutory law is considered the most important source of the constitution. But it is a fact that the constitution relies very much on unwritten conventions, the best example being that of the Sovereign's powers and prerogatives. With the notable exception of the Bill of Rights 1689, no written constitutional document sets a limit to the king's powers. Technically, he is still as Head of State the Commander in Chief of the Army, and the source of all authority in the Kingdom. In theory he has the power to declare war,  appoint the government, and change the law of the land. In fact, and this is the spirit of the Bill of Rights which William of Orange signed in 1689,  the King's authority is legitimate only when exercised with the consent of Parliament.

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