The UK constitution : the writing of a British Bill of rights

The UK constitution : the writing of a British Bill of rights

A constitution is the set of rules that create the relationship between an individual and the state they live in or the company they work in.

It’s like a snooker club, it’s says what we can do !

The purpose of a constitution is to prevent a government from becoming over-powerful; it can take many forms.

In America they sat down and wrote the rules, it’s very difficult to change => They started from scratch, if something needs to be changed, there will be a vote.

The US constitution is codified, consequently, it is not flexible.

In the British way, making and changing rules always => magna carta, the institutions comes from different places, traditions, etc…

We can change things whenever we want, and all it takes is another law to be passed.

The current conservative government are talking compromise, they say they will introduce a British bill of rights => American written style constitution which define the extent of rights which will be protected such as freedom of speech and religion, freedom to demonstrate, freedom from arbitrary and so on.

>> The sources of the British constitution include : laws passed by judges, parliament, the magna carta, EU law…

The British constitution is said to be the opposite of the American Constitution because it’s flexible but rather unclear.

Common law = Judge-made law, certain aspects of private law, particularly concerning contract and tort and some landmark cases also have a constitutional significance. This is also called ‘judge-made law’- laws based on precedent and tradition. When deciding on the legality of a case, judges will use previous decisions on similar cases- these are examples of common law.

For example- the powers contained in the Royal Prerogatives (which are now exercised by the Prime Minister but which used to be exercised by the Monarch).

Statute law = laws voted in parliament, such as the magna carta 1215, the bill of wrights 1689, the acts of union with Scotland 1707 and Ireland 1800,…

=> one of the most important sources of the UK constitution as it overrides other laws (eu laws excepted) due to the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.

Statutes are voted in Parliament

=> it’s the highest form of law

EU laws = the UK is subject to European laws, treaties, and to decisions taken by the EU Court of Justice, and will remain so until formally exiting the EU. Sometimes these laws and treaties come into conflict with UK law, so questioning parliamentary sovereignty.

Examples include the Treaty of Rome (1957) and the Treaty of Lisbon (2009).

The European Convention on Human Rights (1998) came into force in 2000. This international treaty sets out the basic individual rights, such as right to life, liberty and security, prohibition of torture and slavery etc. It will remain into force even after Brexit is completed, since the UK has not left the Council of Europe.

=> it is not meant to protect only EU citizens

Works of authority: works written by scholars seen as experts in the constitution- they outline what is ‘correct’ for the UK constitution.

For example, Bagehot’s The English Constitution (1867), Dicey’s An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885)

Prerogative powers also called the Royal prerogatives : They refer to the powers that have been left over from the period when the monarch was directly involved in the process of government. Prerogative powers are mainly exercised by ministers.

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