Public law

Public Law essay

As a Member of Parliament it is very important to me to understand all different sources of the United Kingdom’s uncodified constitution to be able to perform my role effectively. Indeed, unlike other countries, the UK does not have a written constitution. Instead of a written constitution the UK law relies on rules from many sources such as Acts of Parliament, common law, conventions, and international treaties. These sources of law are essential to maintain democracy in the UK. However their unwritten and flexible nature also means that they will and are introducing significant challenges and uncertainties in their application.

Moreover, parliamentary sovereignty is a fundamental principle that gives the UK Parliament the power to create or remove any law. In fact, acts of Parliament are the most powerful source of constitutional rules because they can redefine the structure of the state itself. This means that as a Member of Parliament I can make changes to the constitution whenever it is needed. For example the European Union Act of 2018 allowed the UK to leave the EU. By doing that it has changed its relationship with Europe and the laws that were binding them (European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, c. 16). Although the power to change laws comes with many responsibilities because we have to ensure that all the changes we make align with constitutional principles and are in sync with the will of the people. It also reveal all the risks that come with flexible sovereignty, especially regarding legal protections and current agreements.

Constitutional conventions play an important role in influencing the behaviour of Member of Parliaments. These constitutional convention are here to make sure that there is stability in the political system. For example, the convention of collective responsibility requires the government ministers to support government decisions in public. Otherwise they must resign. These constitutional conventions help maintain unity and stability within the government as well as trust within Parliament (Bradley, A. W., Ewing, K. D., and Knight, C., Constitutional and Administrative Law (18th edn, Pearson 2022)). However these conventions lack enforceability. Indeed they rely solely on respect for tradition. This can lead to ambiguity, especially when we know that conventions may be disregarded without legal repercussions. Consequently, the lack of clarity can fragilize the stability of governance.

Common law which is developed with the court’s decisions can also influence my role as a Member of parliament. Indeed, the court’s role is to interpret the laws made by Parliament. They can also set precedents that can become part of the legal system. For example in the Miller/Cherry case, the Supreme Court ruled against the government’s attempt to suspend Parliament. Indeed they argued that it was against constitutional principles (R (Miller) v Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland [2019] UKSC 41). This case shows that even if Parliament is sovereign there are limits to its power. Indeed the judiciary can act as a check on Parliament. However, since the UK doesn’t have a written constitution, judicial decisions can sometimes be inconsistent.  It is then more than challenging to balance the Parliament’s authority with the protection of constitutional values.

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