Constitution of the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The constitution of the United Kingdom is the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom
is governed.
Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single core constitutional document. In this sense, it is said not to have a written constitution but an uncodified one. Much of the British constitution is embodied in written documents, within statutes, court judgments
, and treaties. The constitution has other unwritten sources, including parliamentary
constitutional conventions
(as laid out in Erskine May) and royal prerogatives.
Since the English Civil War
, the bedrock of the British constitution has traditionally been the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty
, according to which the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law. It follows that Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament
. There is some debate about whether this principle remains entirely valid today, in part due to the UK's European Union
membership.
; and, second, the rule of law
. The former means that Parliament is the supreme law-making body: its Acts are the highest source of English Law (the concept of supreme parliamentary sovereignty is not recognised by Scots Law, as repeated in MacCormick v Lord Advocate). The latter is the idea that all laws and government actions conform to certain fundamental and unchanging principles. These fundamental principles include equal application of the law
: everyone is equal before the law and no person is above the law, including those in power. Another is no person is punishable in body or goods without a breach of the law
: as held in Entick v Carrington
, unless there is a clear breach of the law, persons are free to do anything, unless the law says otherwise; thus, no punishment without a clear breach of the law.
According to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, Parliament may pass any legislation that it wishes. By contrast, in countries with a codified constitution, the legislature is normally forbidden from passing laws that contradict that constitution: constitutional amendment
s require a special procedure that is more arduous than that for regular laws.
There are many Acts of Parliament which themselves have constitutional significance. For example, Parliament has the power to determine the length of its own term. By the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
, the default length of a term of parliament is five years, but this may be extended with the consent of both Houses. This power was most recently used during World War II
to extend the lifetime of the 1935 parliament
in annual increments up to 1945. However, the Sovereign retains the power to dissolve parliament at any time on the advice of the Prime Minister. Parliament also has the power to change the makeup of its constituent houses and the relation between them. Examples include the House of Lords Act 1999
which changed the membership of the House of Lords, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
which altered the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and the Reform Act 1832
which made major changes to the system used to elect members of the House of Commons.
The power extended to Parliament includes the power to determine the line of succession to the British throne
. This power was most recently used to pass His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936
, which gave constitutional effect to the abdication of Edward VIII and removed any of his putative descendants from the succession. Parliament also has the power to remove or regulate the executive powers of the Sovereign.
Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the House of Lords
. The House of Commons consists of 650 members elected by the people from single-member constituencies under a first past the post system. Following the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999
, the House of Lords consists of 26 bishops of the Church of England
(Lords Spiritual
), 92 elected representatives of the hereditary peers, and several hundred life peers. The power to nominate bishops of the Church of England, and to create hereditary and life peers, is exercised by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. By the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
legislation may, in certain circumstances, be passed without the approval of the House of Lords. Although all legislation must receive the approval of the Sovereign (Royal Assent
), no Sovereign has withheld such assent since 1708.
Following the accession of the UK to European Economic Community
(now the European Union
) in 1972, the UK became bound by European law and more importantly, the principle of the supremacy of European Union law
. According to this principle, which was outlined by the European Court of Justice
in 1964 in the case of Costa v. ENEL
, laws of member states that conflict with EU laws must be disapplied by member states' courts. The conflict between the principles of the primacy of EU law and of parliamentary supremacy was illustrated in the judgment in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council
, which held that the European Communities Act 1972
, the Act that initiated British involvement in the EU, could not be implicitly repealed
simply by the passing of subsequent legislation inconsistent with European law. The court went further and suggested that the 1972 Act formed part of a category of special "constitutional statutes" that were not subject to implied repeal. This exception to the doctrine of implied repeal was something of a novelty, though the court stated that it remained open for Parliament to expressly repeal the Act. It is politically inconceivable at the present time that Parliament would do so, and constitutional lawyers have also questioned whether such a step would be as straightforward in its legal effects as it might seem. The Thoburn judgment was handed down only by the Divisional Court
(part of the High Court
), which occupies a relatively low level in the legal system.
The House of Commons alone possesses the power to pass a motion of no confidence in the Government, which requires the Government either to resign or seek fresh elections (see below). Such a motion does not require passage by the Lords, or Royal Assent.
Parliament traditionally also has the power to remove individual members of the government by impeachment
(with the Commons initiating the impeachment and the Lords trying the case), although this power has not been used since 1806. By the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
it has the power to remove individual judges from office for misconduct.
Additionally, Dicey has observed that the constitution of Belgium
"comes very near to a written reproduction of the English constitution."
, Wales
, Scotland
and Northern Ireland
. Nevertheless, it is a unitary state
, not a federation
(like the United States
, Germany
, Brazil
or Russia
) or a confederation
(like Switzerland
, or the former Serbia and Montenegro
). Although Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as of 2001, possess their own legislatures and executives, England does not (see West Lothian question
). The authority of all these bodies is dependent on Acts of Parliament and that they can in principle be abolished at the will of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A historical example of a legislature that was created by Act of Parliament and later abolished is the Parliament of Northern Ireland
, which was set up by the Government of Ireland Act 1920
and abolished, in response to large-scale political violence in Northern Ireland, by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973
(Northern Ireland has since been given another legislative assembly
under the Northern Ireland Act 1998
). Likewise the Greater London Council
was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985
, and a similar institution, the Greater London Authority
was established in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999
.
Parliament contains no chamber comparable to the United States Senate
(which has equal representation from each state of the USA) or the German Bundesrat
(whose membership is selected by the governments of the States of Germany
). England contains over 80% of the UK's population, produces over 80% of its combined gross domestic product
and contains the capital, London.
In England the established church is the Church of England
. In Scotland, there is no state church, the Church of Scotland
having been formally recognised as not having that status within the Church of Scotland Act 1921
; Wales and Northern Ireland have no established church. England and Wales share the same legal system, while Scotland and Northern Ireland each has its own distinctive legal system. These distinctions were created as a result of the United Kingdom being created by the union
of separate countries according to the terms of the 1706 Treaty of Union
, ratified by the 1707 Acts of Union
.
: succession to the British throne
is hereditary, but excludes those who are Roman Catholics.
Under the British Constitution, sweeping executive powers, known as the royal prerogative
, are nominally vested in the Sovereign. In exercising these powers, however, the Sovereign normally defers to the advice of the Prime Minister or other ministers. This principle, which can be traced back to the Restoration
, was most famously articulated by the Victorian writer Walter Bagehot
as "the Queen reigns, but she does not rule".
The precise extent of the royal prerogative has never formally been delineated, but in 2004, Her Majesty's Government
published some of the powers, in order to be more transparent:
Domestic powers
Foreign powers
The most important prerogatives still personally exercised by the Sovereign are the choice of whom to appoint Prime Minister, and whether to grant a dissolution of Parliament on the request of the Prime Minister. The most recent occasion the monarch has had to exercise these powers were in February 1974
, when Prime Minister Edward Heath
resigned after failing to secure an overall majority in Parliament. Queen Elizabeth II
appointed Harold Wilson
, leader of the Labour Party, as Prime Minister, exercising her prerogative after extensive consultation with the Privy Council
. The Labour Party had the largest number of seats in the House of Commons, but not an overall majority. The 2010 general election also resulted in a hung parliament
. After several days of negotiations, between the parties, Queen Elizabeth II invited David Cameron
to form a government on the advice of the outgoing prime minister Gordon Brown
.
The Sovereign normally grants any request of the Prime Minister for a dissolution of Parliament. However, several authorities agree that a Prime Minister who is granted a dissolution must win at least one vote of confidence from the newly elected Commons before he or she has the right to request any further dissolution. This would mean that, for example, a sitting Prime Minister who suffered defeat in a General Election, and was then defeated in the first confidence motion he or she faced in the new Commons, would not be granted a dissolution. No refusal of a requested dissolution has happened since the beginning of the twentieth century.
The last Sovereign to dismiss a Prime Minister who had not suffered a defeat on a motion of confidence in the House of Commons, or to appoint a Prime Minister who clearly did not enjoy a majority in that House, was William IV
who in 1834 dismissed the Government of Lord Melbourne
, replacing him with the Duke of Wellington
.
Queen Victoria
was the last sovereign to veto a ministerial appointment. In 1892, she refused William Ewart Gladstone
's advice to include Henry Labouchère
(a radical who had insulted the Royal Family) in the Cabinet.
The last sovereign to veto legislation passed by Parliament was Queen Anne
, who withheld assent from the Scottish Militia Bill 1708
.
The Royal Prerogative is not unlimited; this was established in the Case of Proclamations (1610), which confirmed that no new prerogative can be created and that Parliament can abolish individual prerogatives.
, or the identity of the leader of the majority party is not clear (as was often the case for the Conservative Party up to the 1960s, and for all parties in the nineteenth century), the Sovereign has more flexibility in his or her choice. The Sovereign appoints and dismisses other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister (and such appointments and dismissals occur quite frequently as part of cabinet reshuffles
). The Prime Minister, together with other ministers, form the Government. The Government often includes ministers whose posts are sinecure
s (such as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
) or ministers with no specific responsibilities (minister without portfolio
): such positions may be used by the Prime Minister as a form of patronage
, or to reward officials such as the Chairman of the ruling Party with a governmental salary.
If the Commons votes against the Government on a matter of confidence, the Prime Minister must either resign (along with the entire government) or ask the Sovereign to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections. The Government usually resigns immediately after defeat in a general election, though this is not strictly required. For example, Stanley Baldwin
's government lost its majority in the general election of December 1923
, but did not resign until defeated in a confidence vote in January 1924. A request by the Prime Minister to dissolve parliament is usually granted by the Sovereign, though the Sovereign may refuse such a request immediately after a general election, and instead invite another leader to form a government.
The Prime Minister and all other ministers take office immediately upon appointment by the Sovereign. In the United Kingdom, unlike many other countries, there is no requirement for a formal vote of approval by the legislature either of the Government as a whole or of its individual members before they may assume office.
The Prime Minister and all other Ministers normally serve concurrently as members of the House of Commons or House of Lords, and are obliged by collective responsibility to cast their Parliamentary votes for the Government's position, regardless of their personal feelings or the interests of their constituents. The Prime Minister is normally a member of the House of Commons. The last Prime Minister to be a member of the House of Lords was Alec Douglas-Home
; however, he resigned from the Lords and became a member of the Commons shortly after his appointment as Prime Minister in 1963 (there was a period of about two weeks during which he served as Prime Minister despite belonging to neither House). The last Prime Minister to serve a full administration from the House of Lords was Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, who served until 1902.
Thus the executive
("Her Majesty's Government") is "fused
" with Parliament. Because of a number of factors, including the decline of the Sovereign and the House of Lords as independent political actors, an electoral system that tends to produce absolute majorities for one party in the Commons, and the strength of party discipline in the Commons (including the built-in payroll vote
in favour of the Government), the Prime Minister tends to have sweeping powers checked only by the need to retain the support of his or her own MPs. The phrase elective dictatorship
was coined by former Lord Chancellor
Quintin Hogg
in 1976 to highlight the enormous potential power of government
afforded by the constitution.
The need of a Prime Minister to retain the support of her own MPs was illustrated by the case of Margaret Thatcher
, who resigned in 1990 after being challenged for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The strength of party discipline within the Commons, enforced by the whip system
, is shown by the fact that the two most recent votes in which a Government was defeated occurred in 1986 and 2005.
, that of Scotland
, and that of Northern Ireland
. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
the final court of appeal for all cases, other than Scottish criminal cases, is the newly created Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
: for Scottish criminal cases, the final court of appeal remains the High Court of Justiciary
.
Vacancies in the Supreme Court are filled by the Sovereign based on the recommendation of a special selection commission consisting of that Court's President, Deputy President, and members of the judicial appointment commission
s for the three judicial systems of the UK. The choice of the commission may be vetoed by the Lord Chancellor
(a government minister). Members of the Supreme Court may be removed from office by Parliament, but only for misconduct.
Judges may not sit or vote in either House of Parliament (before the 2005 Act, they had been permitted to sit and vote in the House of Lords).
is the established church in England (i.e., not in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland). The Sovereign is ex officio Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and is required by the Act of Settlement 1701
to "join in communion with the Church of England". As part of the coronation
ceremony, the Sovereign swears an oath to "maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England" before being crowned by the senior cleric of the Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury
– a similar oath concerning the established Church of Scotland
, which is a Presbyterian church, having already been given by the new sovereign in his or her Accession Council
. All clergy of the Church swear an oath of allegiance
to the Sovereign before taking office.
Parliament retains authority to pass laws regulating the Church of England. In practice, much of this authority is delegated to the Church's General Synod
. The appointment of bishops and archbishops of the Church
falls within the royal prerogative. In current practice, the Prime Minister makes the choice from two candidates submitted by a commission of prominent Church members, then passes his choice on to the Sovereign. The Prime Minister plays this role even though he himself may not be a member of the Church of England or even a Christian—for example Clement Attlee
was an agnostic who described himself as "incapable of religious feeling".
Unlike many nations in continental Europe, the United Kingdom does not directly fund the established church with public money (although many publicly funded voluntary aided school
s are run by religious foundations, including those of the Church of England). Instead, the Church of England relies on donations, land and investments.
are laws (statute
s) that have received the approval of Parliament
– that is, the Sovereign, the House of Lords
and the House of Commons. On rare occasions, the House of Commons uses the "Parliament Acts" (the Parliament Act 1911
and the Parliament Act 1949
) to pass legislation without the approval of the House of Lords. It is unheard of in modern times for the Sovereign to refuse to assent to a bill, though the possibility was contemplated by George V
in relation to the fiercely controversial Government of Ireland Act 1914.
Acts of Parliament are among the most important sources of the constitution. According to the traditional view, Parliament has the ability to legislate however it wishes on any subject it wishes. For example, most of the iconic mediaeval statute known as Magna Carta
has been repealed since 1828, despite previously being regarded as sacrosanct. It has traditionally been the case that the courts are barred from questioning any Act of Parliament
, a principle that can be traced back to the mediaeval period. On the other hand, this principle has not been without its dissidents and critics over the centuries, and attitudes among the judiciary in this area may be changing.
One consequence of the principle of parliamentary sovereignty
is that there is no hierarchy among Acts of Parliament: all parliamentary legislation is, in principle, of equal validity and effectiveness. However, the judgment of Lord Justice Laws
in the Thoburn
case in 2002 indicated that there may be a special class of "constitutional statutes" such as Magna Carta
, the Human Rights Act 1998
, the European Communities Act 1972
, the Act of Union
and Bill of Rights
which have a higher status than other legislation. This part of his judgment was "obiter" (i.e. not binding) – and, indeed, was controversial. It remains to be seen whether the doctrine will be accepted by other judges.
has, for example, given "further effect" into domestic law through the preamble of the Human Rights Act 1998
.
Also, the Treaty of Union of 1707 was important in creating the unitary state which exists today. The treaty was between the governments of England and Scotland and was put into effect by two Acts of Union which were passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland, respectively. The Treaty, along with the subsequent Acts, brought into existence the Kingdom of Great Britain, uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland.
interpretation unconditionally, it accepts the supremacy of EU law in practice. Because, in the UK, international law is treated as a separate body of law, EU law is enforceable only on the basis of an Act of Parliament, such as the European Communities Act 1972
, which provides for the supremacy of EU law. The supremacy of EU law has been confirmed by the House of Lords, as in the Factortame litigation. Replying to comments on the decision to override national legislation on the basis of EU law, Lord Bridge wrote "Under the terms of the 1972 Act it has always been clear that it was the duty of a United Kingdom court, when delivering final judgment, to override any rule of national law found to be in conflict with any directly enforceable rule of Community law."
On one analysis, EU law is simply a subcategory of international law that depends for its effect on a series of international treaties (notably the Treaty of Rome
and the Maastricht Treaty
). It therefore has effect in the UK only to the extent that Parliament permits it to have effect, by means of statutes such as the European Communities Act 1972
, and Parliament could, as a matter of British law, unilaterally bar the application of EU law in the UK simply by legislating to that effect. However, at least in the views of some British authorities, the doctrine of implied repeal, which applies to normal statutes, does not apply to "constitutional statutes", meaning that any statute that was to have precedence over EU law (thus disapplying the 1972 European Communities Act) would have to provide for this expressly or in such a way as to make the inference "irresistible". The actual legal effect of a statute enacted with the express intention of taking precedence over EU law is as yet unclear. However, it has been stated that if Parliament were to expressly repudiate its treaty obligations the courts would be obliged to give effect to a corresponding statute:
legal systems exist in Northern Ireland and in England and Wales
but not in Scotland
which has a hybrid system (see Scots law
) which involves a great deal of Common Law. Court judgments also commonly form a source of the constitution: generally speaking in English Law, judgments of the higher courts form precedents or case law that binds lower courts and judges; Scots Law does not accord the same status to precedent
and judgments in one legal system do not have a direct effect in the other legal systems.
Historically important court judgments include those in the Case of Proclamations
, the Ship money
case and Entick v. Carrington, all of which imposed limits on the power of the executive.
A constitutional precedent applicable to British colonies is Campbell v. Hall
, which effectively extended those same constitutional limitations to any territory which has been granted a representative assembly.
s are ancient in origin, though others (like the Salisbury Convention
) date from within living memory. Such conventions, which include the duty of the Sovereign to act on the advice of his or her ministers, are not formally enforceable in a court of law; rather, they are primarily observed "because of the political difficulties which arise if they are not."
, Walter Bagehot
and Erskine May
.
argues that the uncodified nature of the United Kingdom constitution does not mean it should not be characterised as a "constitution", but also claims that the lack of an effective separation of powers
, and the fact that parliamentary sovereignty
allows Parliament to overrule fundamental rights, makes it to some extent a 'facade' constitution.
In one article, Lord Scarman presents a spirited argument for a written constitution for the UK, but still refers to the 1688 compromise
and resulting acts of parliament as a constitution.
A. V. Dicey identified that ultimately "the electorate are politically sovereign," and Parliament is legally sovereign. Barendt argues that the greater political party discipline in the House of Commons
that has evolved since Dicey's era, and the reduction in checks on governmental power, has led to an excessively powerful government that is not legally constrained by the observance of fundamental rights. A Constitution would impose limits on what Parliament could do without a legal majority. To date, the Parliament of the UK has no limit on its power other than the possibility of extra-parliamentary action (by the people) and of other sovereign states (pursuant to treaties made by Parliament and otherwise).
Proponents of a codified constitution argue it would strengthen the legal protection of democracy and freedom. As a strong advocate of the "unwritten constitution", Dicey highlighted that English rights were embedded in the general English common law
of personal liberty, and "the institutions and manners of the nation". Opponents of a written constitution argue that the country is not based on a founding document that tells its citizens who they are and what they can do. There is also a belief that any unwarranted encroachment on the spirit of constitutional authority would be stiffly resisted by the British people, a perception expounded by the 19th century American judge Justice Bradley in the course of delivering his opinion in a case heard in Louisiana in 1873: “England has no written constitution, it is true; but it has an unwritten one, resting in the acknowledged, and frequently declared, privileges of Parliament and the people, to violate which in any material respect would produce a revolution in an hour.”
and assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland
. The UK was formed as a unitary state
, though Scotland and England retained separate legal systems. Some commentators have stated the UK is now a "quasi-federal
" state: it is only "quasi" federal, because (unlike the other components of the UK) England has no legislature of its own, and is directly ruled from Westminster (the devolved bodies are not sovereign and could, in theory at least, be repealed by Parliament – unlike "true" federations such as the United States
where the constituent states share sovereignty with the federal government). Attempts to extend devolution to the various regions of England have stalled, and the fact that Parliament functions both as a British and as an English legislature has created some dissatisfaction (see, for example, the article on the "West Lothian question
").
government under past-Prime Minister
Tony Blair
instituted sweeping constitutional reforms in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s. The effective incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights
into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998
has granted citizens specific positive rights and given the judiciary some power to enforce them. The courts can put pressure on Parliament to amend primary legislation
that conflicts with the Act by means of "Declarations of Incompatibility" – however only of an advisory capacity as Parliament is not bound to amend the law nor can the judiciary void any statute – and can refuse to enforce, or "strike down", any incompatible secondary legislation. Any actions of government authorities that violate Convention rights are illegal except if mandated by an Act of Parliament.
These reforms have undermined the concept of Parliamentary sovereignty somewhat, even though Parliament could still abolish the devolved assemblies and repeal the Human Rights Act. In reality such action is unlikely so these restrictions on the legislative power of Parliament are likely to remain on the statute book for the time being.
Recent changes also include the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
which alters the structure of the House of Lords to separate its judicial and legislative functions. For example the legislative, judicial and executive functions of the Lord Chancellor
are now shared between the Lord Chancellor (executive), Lord Chief Justice (judicial) and the newly created post of Lord Speaker
(legislative). The role of Law Lord (a member of the judiciary in the House of Lords) was abolished by transferring them to the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
in October 2009.
Gordon Brown
launched a "Governance of Britain" process when he took over as PM in 2007. This was an ongoing process of constitutional reform with the Ministry of Justice as lead ministry.
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 is a piece of constitutional legislation. It enshrines in statute the impartiality and integrity of the UK Civil Service and the principle of open and fair recruitment. It enshrines in law the Ponsonby Rule
which requires that treaties are laid before Parliament before they can be ratified.
The Coalition Government, formed in May 2010, proposed a series of further Constitutional reforms in their coalition agreement. Consequently, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 were passed. The Acts will reduce the number of MPs in the House of Commons from 650 to 600, change the way the UK is divided into parliamentary constituencies, introduce a referendum on changing the system used to elect MPs and take the power to dissolve Parliament away from the monarch. The Coalition has also promised to introduce legislation on the reform of the House of Lords.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is governed.
Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single core constitutional document. In this sense, it is said not to have a written constitution but an uncodified one. Much of the British constitution is embodied in written documents, within statutes, court judgments
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
, and treaties. The constitution has other unwritten sources, including parliamentary
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
constitutional conventions
Constitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
(as laid out in Erskine May) and royal prerogatives.
Since the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, the bedrock of the British constitution has traditionally been the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. In the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, a legislative body has absolute sovereignty, meaning it is supreme to all other government institutions—including any executive or judicial bodies...
, according to which the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law. It follows that Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
. There is some debate about whether this principle remains entirely valid today, in part due to the UK's European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
membership.
Parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law
In the 19th century, A.V. Dicey, a highly influential constitutional scholar and lawyer, wrote of the twin pillars of the British constitution in his classic work An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885). These pillars are, first, the principle of Parliamentary sovereigntyParliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. In the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, a legislative body has absolute sovereignty, meaning it is supreme to all other government institutions—including any executive or judicial bodies...
; and, second, the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
. The former means that Parliament is the supreme law-making body: its Acts are the highest source of English Law (the concept of supreme parliamentary sovereignty is not recognised by Scots Law, as repeated in MacCormick v Lord Advocate). The latter is the idea that all laws and government actions conform to certain fundamental and unchanging principles. These fundamental principles include equal application of the law
Equality before the law
Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws....
: everyone is equal before the law and no person is above the law, including those in power. Another is no person is punishable in body or goods without a breach of the law
Nulla poena sine lege
Nulla poena sine lege is a legal principle, requiring that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law. This principle is accepted as just and upheld by the penal codes of constitutional states, including virtually all modern democracies...
: as held in Entick v Carrington
Entick v Carrington
Entick v Carrington [1765] is a leading case in English law establishing the civil liberties of individuals and limiting the scope of executive power. The case has also been influential in other common law jurisdictions and was an important motivation for the Fourth Amendment to the United States...
, unless there is a clear breach of the law, persons are free to do anything, unless the law says otherwise; thus, no punishment without a clear breach of the law.
According to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, Parliament may pass any legislation that it wishes. By contrast, in countries with a codified constitution, the legislature is normally forbidden from passing laws that contradict that constitution: constitutional amendment
Constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a formal change to the text of the written constitution of a nation or state.Most constitutions require that amendments cannot be enacted unless they have passed a special procedure that is more stringent than that required of ordinary legislation...
s require a special procedure that is more arduous than that for regular laws.
There are many Acts of Parliament which themselves have constitutional significance. For example, Parliament has the power to determine the length of its own term. By the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
, the default length of a term of parliament is five years, but this may be extended with the consent of both Houses. This power was most recently used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to extend the lifetime of the 1935 parliament
United Kingdom general election, 1935
The United Kingdom general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
in annual increments up to 1945. However, the Sovereign retains the power to dissolve parliament at any time on the advice of the Prime Minister. Parliament also has the power to change the makeup of its constituent houses and the relation between them. Examples include the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
which changed the membership of the House of Lords, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
which altered the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
which made major changes to the system used to elect members of the House of Commons.
The power extended to Parliament includes the power to determine the line of succession to the British throne
Line of succession to the British Throne
The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...
. This power was most recently used to pass His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936
His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 was the Act of the British Parliament that allowed King Edward VIII to abdicate the throne, and passed succession to his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York . The Act also excluded any possible future descendants of Edward from the line of succession...
, which gave constitutional effect to the abdication of Edward VIII and removed any of his putative descendants from the succession. Parliament also has the power to remove or regulate the executive powers of the Sovereign.
Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
. The House of Commons consists of 650 members elected by the people from single-member constituencies under a first past the post system. Following the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
, the House of Lords consists of 26 bishops of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
(Lords Spiritual
Lords Spiritual
The Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom, also called Spiritual Peers, are the 26 bishops of the established Church of England who serve in the House of Lords along with the Lords Temporal. The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, is not represented by spiritual peers...
), 92 elected representatives of the hereditary peers, and several hundred life peers. The power to nominate bishops of the Church of England, and to create hereditary and life peers, is exercised by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister. By the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
legislation may, in certain circumstances, be passed without the approval of the House of Lords. Although all legislation must receive the approval of the Sovereign (Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
), no Sovereign has withheld such assent since 1708.
Following the accession of the UK to European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
(now the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
) in 1972, the UK became bound by European law and more importantly, the principle of the supremacy of European Union law
European Union law primacy
The supremacy of EU law is a principle of by which the laws of European Union member states that conflict with laws of the European Union must be ignored by national courts so that the European Union law can take effect. The legal doctrine emerged from the European Court of Justice through a...
. According to this principle, which was outlined by the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
in 1964 in the case of Costa v. ENEL
Costa v. ENEL
Flaminio Costa v ENEL [1964] ECR 585 was a landmark decision of the European Court of Justice which established the supremacy of European Union law over the laws of its member states.-Facts:...
, laws of member states that conflict with EU laws must be disapplied by member states' courts. The conflict between the principles of the primacy of EU law and of parliamentary supremacy was illustrated in the judgment in Thoburn v Sunderland City Council
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council is an important English constitutional law case. It advances the theory that there exists a hierarchy of Acts of Parliament, whereby those Acts affecting "the legal relationship between citizen and State" or "fundamental constitutional rights" form a special and...
, which held that the European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972 (UK)
The European Communities Act 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom providing for the incorporation of European Community law into the domestic law of the United Kingdom. It is not to be confused with the Irish law of the same name, Act No...
, the Act that initiated British involvement in the EU, could not be implicitly repealed
Implied repeal
The doctrine of implied repeal is a concept in English constitutional theory which states that where an Act of Parliament conflicts with an earlier one, the later Act takes precedence and the conflicting parts of the earlier Act are repealed...
simply by the passing of subsequent legislation inconsistent with European law. The court went further and suggested that the 1972 Act formed part of a category of special "constitutional statutes" that were not subject to implied repeal. This exception to the doctrine of implied repeal was something of a novelty, though the court stated that it remained open for Parliament to expressly repeal the Act. It is politically inconceivable at the present time that Parliament would do so, and constitutional lawyers have also questioned whether such a step would be as straightforward in its legal effects as it might seem. The Thoburn judgment was handed down only by the Divisional Court
Divisional Court
A Divisional Court, in relation to the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, means a court sitting with at least two judges. Matters heard by a Divisional Court include some criminal cases in the High Court as well as certain judicial review cases...
(part of the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
), which occupies a relatively low level in the legal system.
The House of Commons alone possesses the power to pass a motion of no confidence in the Government, which requires the Government either to resign or seek fresh elections (see below). Such a motion does not require passage by the Lords, or Royal Assent.
Parliament traditionally also has the power to remove individual members of the government by impeachment
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
(with the Commons initiating the impeachment and the Lords trying the case), although this power has not been used since 1806. By the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...
it has the power to remove individual judges from office for misconduct.
Additionally, Dicey has observed that the constitution of Belgium
Constitution of Belgium
The Constitution of Belgium dates back to 1831. Since then Belgium has been a parliamentary monarchy that applies the principles of ministerial responsibility for the government policy and the Trias Politica. The Constitution established Belgium as a centralised unitary state...
"comes very near to a written reproduction of the English constitution."
Unitary state
The United Kingdom comprises four distinct countries: EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Nevertheless, it is a unitary state
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
, not a federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
(like the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
or Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) or a confederation
Confederation
A confederation in modern political terms is a permanent union of political units for common action in relation to other units. Usually created by treaty but often later adopting a common constitution, confederations tend to be established for dealing with critical issues such as defense, foreign...
(like Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, or the former Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro was a country in southeastern Europe, formed from two former republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia : Serbia and Montenegro. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was established in 1992 as a federation called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
). Although Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as of 2001, possess their own legislatures and executives, England does not (see West Lothian question
West Lothian question
The West Lothian question refers to issues concerning the ability of Members of Parliament from constituencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to vote on matters that only affect people living in England...
). The authority of all these bodies is dependent on Acts of Parliament and that they can in principle be abolished at the will of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A historical example of a legislature that was created by Act of Parliament and later abolished is the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
, which was set up by the Government of Ireland Act 1920
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which partitioned Ireland. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill or as the Fourth Home Rule Act.The Act was intended...
and abolished, in response to large-scale political violence in Northern Ireland, by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973
Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973
The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which received the Royal Assent on 18 July 1973...
(Northern Ireland has since been given another legislative assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
under the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
). Likewise the Greater London Council
Greater London Council
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a much smaller area...
was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985
Local Government Act 1985
The Local Government Act 1985 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Its main effect was to abolish the county councils of the metropolitan counties that had been set up in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, along with the Greater London Council that had been established in 1965.The...
, and a similar institution, the Greater London Authority
Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority is the top-tier administrative body for Greater London, England. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers...
was established in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999
Greater London Authority Act 1999
The Greater London Authority Act 1999 is the Act of Parliament that established the Greater London Authority, the London Assembly and the Mayor of London....
.
Parliament contains no chamber comparable to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
(which has equal representation from each state of the USA) or the German Bundesrat
Bundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
(whose membership is selected by the governments of the States of Germany
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
). England contains over 80% of the UK's population, produces over 80% of its combined gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
and contains the capital, London.
In England the established church is the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. In Scotland, there is no state church, the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
having been formally recognised as not having that status within the Church of Scotland Act 1921
Church of Scotland Act 1921
The Church of Scotland Act 1921 is an Act of the British Parliament, passed in 1921. The purpose of the Act was to settle centuries of dispute between the British Parliament and the Church of Scotland over the Church's independence in spiritual matters...
; Wales and Northern Ireland have no established church. England and Wales share the same legal system, while Scotland and Northern Ireland each has its own distinctive legal system. These distinctions were created as a result of the United Kingdom being created by the union
Political union
A political union is a type of state which is composed of or created out of smaller states. Unlike a personal union, the individual states share a common government and the union is recognized internationally as a single political entity...
of separate countries according to the terms of the 1706 Treaty of Union
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
, ratified by the 1707 Acts of Union
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
.
Constitutional monarchy
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchyConstitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
: succession to the British throne
Succession to the British Throne
Succession to the British throne is governed both by common law and statute. Under common law the crown is currently passed on by male-preference primogeniture. In other words, succession passes first to an individual's sons, in order of birth, and subsequently to daughters, again in order of birth....
is hereditary, but excludes those who are Roman Catholics.
Under the British Constitution, sweeping executive powers, known as the royal prerogative
Royal Prerogative (United Kingdom)
The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognised in the United Kingdom as the sole prerogative of the Sovereign. Many of the executive powers of British government, vested in a monarch, have been bestowed under the mandate of the Royal...
, are nominally vested in the Sovereign. In exercising these powers, however, the Sovereign normally defers to the advice of the Prime Minister or other ministers. This principle, which can be traced back to the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, was most famously articulated by the Victorian writer Walter Bagehot
Walter Bagehot
Walter Bagehot was an English businessman, essayist, and journalist who wrote extensively about literature, government, and economic affairs.-Early years:...
as "the Queen reigns, but she does not rule".
The precise extent of the royal prerogative has never formally been delineated, but in 2004, Her Majesty's Government
Government of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Government is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers...
published some of the powers, in order to be more transparent:
Domestic powers
- The power to dismiss and appoint a Prime Minister
- The power to dismiss and appoint other ministers
- The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament
- The power to grant or refuse Royal Assent to bills (making them valid and law)
- The power to commission officers in the Armed Forces
- The power to command the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom
- The power to appoint members to the Queen's Council
- The power to issue and withdraw passports
- The power to grant Prerogative of mercy (though Capital Punishment is abolished, this power is still used to remedy errors in sentence calculation)
- The power to grant honours
- The power to create corporations via Royal Charter
- The power to appoint bishops and archbishops of the Church of England.
Foreign powers
- The power to ratify and make treaties
- The power to declare War and Peace
- The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas
- The power to recognize states
- The power to credit and receive diplomats
The most important prerogatives still personally exercised by the Sovereign are the choice of whom to appoint Prime Minister, and whether to grant a dissolution of Parliament on the request of the Prime Minister. The most recent occasion the monarch has had to exercise these powers were in February 1974
United Kingdom general election, February 1974
The United Kingdom's general election of February 1974 was held on the 28th of that month. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the first election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party,...
, when Prime Minister Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
resigned after failing to secure an overall majority in Parliament. Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
appointed Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
, leader of the Labour Party, as Prime Minister, exercising her prerogative after extensive consultation with the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. The Labour Party had the largest number of seats in the House of Commons, but not an overall majority. The 2010 general election also resulted in a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
. After several days of negotiations, between the parties, Queen Elizabeth II invited David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
to form a government on the advice of the outgoing prime minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
.
The Sovereign normally grants any request of the Prime Minister for a dissolution of Parliament. However, several authorities agree that a Prime Minister who is granted a dissolution must win at least one vote of confidence from the newly elected Commons before he or she has the right to request any further dissolution. This would mean that, for example, a sitting Prime Minister who suffered defeat in a General Election, and was then defeated in the first confidence motion he or she faced in the new Commons, would not be granted a dissolution. No refusal of a requested dissolution has happened since the beginning of the twentieth century.
The last Sovereign to dismiss a Prime Minister who had not suffered a defeat on a motion of confidence in the House of Commons, or to appoint a Prime Minister who clearly did not enjoy a majority in that House, was William IV
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
who in 1834 dismissed the Government of Lord Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, PC, FRS was a British Whig statesman who served as Home Secretary and Prime Minister . He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, at ages 18-21, in the ways of politics...
, replacing him with the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
.
Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
was the last sovereign to veto a ministerial appointment. In 1892, she refused William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
's advice to include Henry Labouchère
Henry Labouchere
Henry Du Pré Labouchère was an English politician, writer, publisher and theatre owner in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. He married the actress Henrietta Hodson....
(a radical who had insulted the Royal Family) in the Cabinet.
The last sovereign to veto legislation passed by Parliament was Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, who withheld assent from the Scottish Militia Bill 1708
Scottish Militia Bill 1708
The Scottish Militia Bill is the usual name given to a bill that was passed by the House of Commons and House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain in spring 1708, but vetoed by Queen Anne on the advice of her ministers on 11 March 1708 for fear that the proposed militia created would be...
.
The Royal Prerogative is not unlimited; this was established in the Case of Proclamations (1610), which confirmed that no new prerogative can be created and that Parliament can abolish individual prerogatives.
Prime Minister and Government
The Prime Minister is appointed by the Sovereign. When one party has an absolute majority in the House of Commons, the Sovereign appoints the leader of that party as Prime Minister. When there is a hung parliamentHung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
, or the identity of the leader of the majority party is not clear (as was often the case for the Conservative Party up to the 1960s, and for all parties in the nineteenth century), the Sovereign has more flexibility in his or her choice. The Sovereign appoints and dismisses other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister (and such appointments and dismissals occur quite frequently as part of cabinet reshuffles
Cabinet shuffle
In the parliamentary system a cabinet shuffle or reshuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet....
). The Prime Minister, together with other ministers, form the Government. The Government often includes ministers whose posts are sinecure
Sinecure
A sinecure means an office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service...
s (such as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom that includes as part of its duties, the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster...
) or ministers with no specific responsibilities (minister without portfolio
Minister without Portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...
): such positions may be used by the Prime Minister as a form of patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
, or to reward officials such as the Chairman of the ruling Party with a governmental salary.
If the Commons votes against the Government on a matter of confidence, the Prime Minister must either resign (along with the entire government) or ask the Sovereign to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections. The Government usually resigns immediately after defeat in a general election, though this is not strictly required. For example, Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
's government lost its majority in the general election of December 1923
United Kingdom general election, 1923
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987*-External links:***...
, but did not resign until defeated in a confidence vote in January 1924. A request by the Prime Minister to dissolve parliament is usually granted by the Sovereign, though the Sovereign may refuse such a request immediately after a general election, and instead invite another leader to form a government.
The Prime Minister and all other ministers take office immediately upon appointment by the Sovereign. In the United Kingdom, unlike many other countries, there is no requirement for a formal vote of approval by the legislature either of the Government as a whole or of its individual members before they may assume office.
The Prime Minister and all other Ministers normally serve concurrently as members of the House of Commons or House of Lords, and are obliged by collective responsibility to cast their Parliamentary votes for the Government's position, regardless of their personal feelings or the interests of their constituents. The Prime Minister is normally a member of the House of Commons. The last Prime Minister to be a member of the House of Lords was Alec Douglas-Home
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
; however, he resigned from the Lords and became a member of the Commons shortly after his appointment as Prime Minister in 1963 (there was a period of about two weeks during which he served as Prime Minister despite belonging to neither House). The last Prime Minister to serve a full administration from the House of Lords was Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, who served until 1902.
Thus the executive
Executive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
("Her Majesty's Government") is "fused
Fusion of powers
Fusion of powers is a feature of parliamentary democracies, wherein the executive and legislative branches are intermingled. It is often contrasted with the more strict separation of powers found in the presidential democracies. Fusion of powers exists in many, if not a majority, of democracies...
" with Parliament. Because of a number of factors, including the decline of the Sovereign and the House of Lords as independent political actors, an electoral system that tends to produce absolute majorities for one party in the Commons, and the strength of party discipline in the Commons (including the built-in payroll vote
Payroll vote
Payroll vote is a term in the British Parliamentary System for Members of Parliament who concurrently hold Government positions. It includes ministers, junior ministers and Parliamentary Private Secretaries: even though the last are unpaid, they are "widely regarded as being on the first rung of...
in favour of the Government), the Prime Minister tends to have sweeping powers checked only by the need to retain the support of his or her own MPs. The phrase elective dictatorship
Elective dictatorship
An "elective dictatorship" is a phrase coined by the former Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Lord Hailsham, in a Richard Dimbleby Lecture at the BBC in 1976. It describes the state in which Parliament is dominated by the government of the day...
was coined by former Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
Quintin Hogg
Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone
For the businessman and philanthropist, see Quintin Hogg Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, KG, CH, PC, QC, FRS , formerly 2nd Viscount Hailsham , was a British politician who was known for the longevity of his career, the vigour with which he campaigned for the Conservative...
in 1976 to highlight the enormous potential power of government
Political power
Political power is a type of power held by a group in a society which allows administration of some or all of public resources, including labour, and wealth. There are many ways to obtain possession of such power. At the nation-state level political legitimacy for political power is held by the...
afforded by the constitution.
The need of a Prime Minister to retain the support of her own MPs was illustrated by the case of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, who resigned in 1990 after being challenged for the leadership of the Conservative Party. The strength of party discipline within the Commons, enforced by the whip system
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
, is shown by the fact that the two most recent votes in which a Government was defeated occurred in 1986 and 2005.
Judiciary
As mentioned above, there are three separate judicial systems in the United Kingdom: that of England and WalesCourts of England and Wales
Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales; they apply the law of England and Wales and are established under Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The United Kingdom does not have...
, that of Scotland
Courts of Scotland
The civil, criminal and heraldic Courts of Scotland are responsible for the administration of justice. They are constituted and governed by Scots law....
, and that of Northern Ireland
Courts of Northern Ireland
The courts of Northern Ireland are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in Northern Ireland: they are constituted and governed by Northern Ireland law....
. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...
the final court of appeal for all cases, other than Scottish criminal cases, is the newly created Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and highest appellate court in the United Kingdom; however the High Court of Justiciary remains the supreme court for criminal...
: for Scottish criminal cases, the final court of appeal remains the High Court of Justiciary
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
.
Vacancies in the Supreme Court are filled by the Sovereign based on the recommendation of a special selection commission consisting of that Court's President, Deputy President, and members of the judicial appointment commission
Judicial Appointments Commission
The Judicial Appointments Commission is responsible for selecting judges in England and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body which was created on 3 April 2006 as part of the reforms following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005...
s for the three judicial systems of the UK. The choice of the commission may be vetoed by the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
(a government minister). Members of the Supreme Court may be removed from office by Parliament, but only for misconduct.
Judges may not sit or vote in either House of Parliament (before the 2005 Act, they had been permitted to sit and vote in the House of Lords).
Church of England
The Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
is the established church in England (i.e., not in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland). The Sovereign is ex officio Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and is required by the Act of Settlement 1701
Act of Settlement 1701
The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
to "join in communion with the Church of England". As part of the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
ceremony, the Sovereign swears an oath to "maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England" before being crowned by the senior cleric of the Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
– a similar oath concerning the established Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, which is a Presbyterian church, having already been given by the new sovereign in his or her Accession Council
Accession Council
In the United Kingdom, the Accession Council is a ceremonial body which assembles in St. James's Palace upon the death of a monarch , to make a formal proclamation of the accession of his or her successor to the throne, and to receive a religious oath from the new monarch...
. All clergy of the Church swear an oath of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
to the Sovereign before taking office.
Parliament retains authority to pass laws regulating the Church of England. In practice, much of this authority is delegated to the Church's General Synod
General Synod of the Church of England
The General Synod is the deliberative and legislative body of the Church of England. The synod was instituted in 1970, replacing the Church Assembly, and is the culmination of a process of rediscovering self-government for the Church of England that had started in the 1850s.- Church Assembly: 1919...
. The appointment of bishops and archbishops of the Church
Appointment of Church of England bishops
The appointment of Church of England diocesan bishops follows a somewhat convoluted process, reflecting the church's traditional tendency towards compromise and ad hoc solutions, traditional ambiguity between hierarchy and democracy, and traditional role as a semi-autonomous state church...
falls within the royal prerogative. In current practice, the Prime Minister makes the choice from two candidates submitted by a commission of prominent Church members, then passes his choice on to the Sovereign. The Prime Minister plays this role even though he himself may not be a member of the Church of England or even a Christian—for example Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
was an agnostic who described himself as "incapable of religious feeling".
Unlike many nations in continental Europe, the United Kingdom does not directly fund the established church with public money (although many publicly funded voluntary aided school
Voluntary aided school
A voluntary aided school is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust owns the school buildings, contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school...
s are run by religious foundations, including those of the Church of England). Instead, the Church of England relies on donations, land and investments.
Acts of Parliament
Acts of ParliamentAct of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
are laws (statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
s) that have received the approval of Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
– that is, the Sovereign, the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
and the House of Commons. On rare occasions, the House of Commons uses the "Parliament Acts" (the Parliament Act 1911
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords which make up the Houses of Parliament. This Act must be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1949...
and the Parliament Act 1949
Parliament Act 1949
The Parliament Act 1949 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.This Act must be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1911...
) to pass legislation without the approval of the House of Lords. It is unheard of in modern times for the Sovereign to refuse to assent to a bill, though the possibility was contemplated by George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
in relation to the fiercely controversial Government of Ireland Act 1914.
Acts of Parliament are among the most important sources of the constitution. According to the traditional view, Parliament has the ability to legislate however it wishes on any subject it wishes. For example, most of the iconic mediaeval statute known as Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
has been repealed since 1828, despite previously being regarded as sacrosanct. It has traditionally been the case that the courts are barred from questioning any Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, a principle that can be traced back to the mediaeval period. On the other hand, this principle has not been without its dissidents and critics over the centuries, and attitudes among the judiciary in this area may be changing.
One consequence of the principle of parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. In the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, a legislative body has absolute sovereignty, meaning it is supreme to all other government institutions—including any executive or judicial bodies...
is that there is no hierarchy among Acts of Parliament: all parliamentary legislation is, in principle, of equal validity and effectiveness. However, the judgment of Lord Justice Laws
John Laws (judge)
Sir John Grant McKenzie Laws , styled The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Laws, has been a Lord Justice of Appeal since 1999.-Early life:...
in the Thoburn
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council
Thoburn v Sunderland City Council is an important English constitutional law case. It advances the theory that there exists a hierarchy of Acts of Parliament, whereby those Acts affecting "the legal relationship between citizen and State" or "fundamental constitutional rights" form a special and...
case in 2002 indicated that there may be a special class of "constitutional statutes" such as Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
, the European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
, the Act of Union
Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
and Bill of Rights
Bill of Rights 1689
The Bill of Rights or the Bill of Rights 1688 is an Act of the Parliament of England.The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689. It was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 ,...
which have a higher status than other legislation. This part of his judgment was "obiter" (i.e. not binding) – and, indeed, was controversial. It remains to be seen whether the doctrine will be accepted by other judges.
Treaties
Treaties do not, on ratification, automatically become incorporated into UK law. Important treaties have been incorporated into domestic law by means of Acts of Parliament. The European Convention on Human RightsEuropean Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
has, for example, given "further effect" into domestic law through the preamble of the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
.
Also, the Treaty of Union of 1707 was important in creating the unitary state which exists today. The treaty was between the governments of England and Scotland and was put into effect by two Acts of Union which were passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland, respectively. The Treaty, along with the subsequent Acts, brought into existence the Kingdom of Great Britain, uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland.
European Union law
Under European Law, as developed by the ECJ, the EC Treaty created a "new legal order" under which the validity of European Community law cannot be impeded by national law; though the UK, like a number of other EU members, does not share the ECJ's monistMonism
Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...
interpretation unconditionally, it accepts the supremacy of EU law in practice. Because, in the UK, international law is treated as a separate body of law, EU law is enforceable only on the basis of an Act of Parliament, such as the European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
, which provides for the supremacy of EU law. The supremacy of EU law has been confirmed by the House of Lords, as in the Factortame litigation. Replying to comments on the decision to override national legislation on the basis of EU law, Lord Bridge wrote "Under the terms of the 1972 Act it has always been clear that it was the duty of a United Kingdom court, when delivering final judgment, to override any rule of national law found to be in conflict with any directly enforceable rule of Community law."
On one analysis, EU law is simply a subcategory of international law that depends for its effect on a series of international treaties (notably the Treaty of Rome
Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, was an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany...
and the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
). It therefore has effect in the UK only to the extent that Parliament permits it to have effect, by means of statutes such as the European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
, and Parliament could, as a matter of British law, unilaterally bar the application of EU law in the UK simply by legislating to that effect. However, at least in the views of some British authorities, the doctrine of implied repeal, which applies to normal statutes, does not apply to "constitutional statutes", meaning that any statute that was to have precedence over EU law (thus disapplying the 1972 European Communities Act) would have to provide for this expressly or in such a way as to make the inference "irresistible". The actual legal effect of a statute enacted with the express intention of taking precedence over EU law is as yet unclear. However, it has been stated that if Parliament were to expressly repudiate its treaty obligations the courts would be obliged to give effect to a corresponding statute:
"If the time should come when our Parliament deliberately passes an Act – with the intention of repudiating the Treaty or any provision of it – or intentionally of acting inconsistently with it – and says so in express terms – then . . . it would be the duty of our courts to follow the statute of our Parliament" (per Lord Denning in Macartys Ltd v Smith [1979] ICR at p. 789)"
Common law
Common lawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
legal systems exist in Northern Ireland and in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
but not in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
which has a hybrid system (see Scots law
Scots law
Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...
) which involves a great deal of Common Law. Court judgments also commonly form a source of the constitution: generally speaking in English Law, judgments of the higher courts form precedents or case law that binds lower courts and judges; Scots Law does not accord the same status to precedent
Binding precedent
In law, a binding precedent is a precedent which must be followed by all lower courts under common law legal systems. In English law it is usually created by the decision of a higher court, such as the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which took over the judicial functions of the House of...
and judgments in one legal system do not have a direct effect in the other legal systems.
Historically important court judgments include those in the Case of Proclamations
Case of Proclamations
The Case of Proclamations [1610] was a court decision during the reign of King James I which defined some limitations on the Royal Prerogative at that time. Principally, it established that the Monarch could make laws only through parliament...
, the Ship money
Ship money
Ship money refers to a tax that Charles I of England tried to levy without the consent of Parliament. This tax, which was only applied to coastal towns during a time of war, was intended to offset the cost of defending that part of the coast, and could be paid in actual ships or the equivalent value...
case and Entick v. Carrington, all of which imposed limits on the power of the executive.
A constitutional precedent applicable to British colonies is Campbell v. Hall
Campbell v. Hall
Campbell v Hall was a case decided in the Court of King's Bench in 1774. On its face it was an action for recovery of sums paid to a tax agent. The matter was first heard in the Mayor's and City of London Court, which court found a special verdict and remitted it to the Court of King's Bench,...
, which effectively extended those same constitutional limitations to any territory which has been granted a representative assembly.
Conventions
Many British constitutional conventionConstitutional convention (political custom)
A constitutional convention is an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state. In some states, notably those Commonwealth of Nations states that follow the Westminster system and whose political systems derive from British constitutional law, most...
s are ancient in origin, though others (like the Salisbury Convention
Salisbury Convention
The Salisbury Convention is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom which puts forward that the House of Lords will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto.Following a landslide Labour general election victory in...
) date from within living memory. Such conventions, which include the duty of the Sovereign to act on the advice of his or her ministers, are not formally enforceable in a court of law; rather, they are primarily observed "because of the political difficulties which arise if they are not."
Works of authority
Works of authority is the formal name for works that are sometimes cited as interpretations of aspects of the UK constitution. Most are works written by nineteenth- or early-twentieth-century constitutionalists, in particular A. V. DiceyA. V. Dicey
- References :...
, Walter Bagehot
Walter Bagehot
Walter Bagehot was an English businessman, essayist, and journalist who wrote extensively about literature, government, and economic affairs.-Early years:...
and Erskine May
Erskine May, 1st Baron Farnborough
Sir Erskine May, 1st Baron Farnborough, KCB, PC, DCL was a British constitutional theorist. This derived from his career at the House of Commons.-Biography:...
.
Disputes about the nature of the UK Constitution
The legal scholar Eric BarendtEric Barendt
Eric M. Barendt is the Goodman Professor of Media Law at University College London. After graduating BCL and MA at Oxford, Barendt was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn. He began lecturing in law as a fellow at St Catherine's College, Oxford in 1971...
argues that the uncodified nature of the United Kingdom constitution does not mean it should not be characterised as a "constitution", but also claims that the lack of an effective separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
, and the fact that parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. In the concept of parliamentary sovereignty, a legislative body has absolute sovereignty, meaning it is supreme to all other government institutions—including any executive or judicial bodies...
allows Parliament to overrule fundamental rights, makes it to some extent a 'facade' constitution.
In one article, Lord Scarman presents a spirited argument for a written constitution for the UK, but still refers to the 1688 compromise
Bill of Rights 1689
The Bill of Rights or the Bill of Rights 1688 is an Act of the Parliament of England.The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689. It was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 ,...
and resulting acts of parliament as a constitution.
A. V. Dicey identified that ultimately "the electorate are politically sovereign," and Parliament is legally sovereign. Barendt argues that the greater political party discipline in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
that has evolved since Dicey's era, and the reduction in checks on governmental power, has led to an excessively powerful government that is not legally constrained by the observance of fundamental rights. A Constitution would impose limits on what Parliament could do without a legal majority. To date, the Parliament of the UK has no limit on its power other than the possibility of extra-parliamentary action (by the people) and of other sovereign states (pursuant to treaties made by Parliament and otherwise).
Proponents of a codified constitution argue it would strengthen the legal protection of democracy and freedom. As a strong advocate of the "unwritten constitution", Dicey highlighted that English rights were embedded in the general English common law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
of personal liberty, and "the institutions and manners of the nation". Opponents of a written constitution argue that the country is not based on a founding document that tells its citizens who they are and what they can do. There is also a belief that any unwarranted encroachment on the spirit of constitutional authority would be stiffly resisted by the British people, a perception expounded by the 19th century American judge Justice Bradley in the course of delivering his opinion in a case heard in Louisiana in 1873: “England has no written constitution, it is true; but it has an unwritten one, resting in the acknowledged, and frequently declared, privileges of Parliament and the people, to violate which in any material respect would produce a revolution in an hour.”
Devolution
Reforms since 1997 have decentralised the UK by setting up a devolved Scottish ParliamentScottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
and assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
. The UK was formed as a unitary state
Unitary state
A unitary state is a state governed as one single unit in which the central government is supreme and any administrative divisions exercise only powers that their central government chooses to delegate...
, though Scotland and England retained separate legal systems. Some commentators have stated the UK is now a "quasi-federal
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
" state: it is only "quasi" federal, because (unlike the other components of the UK) England has no legislature of its own, and is directly ruled from Westminster (the devolved bodies are not sovereign and could, in theory at least, be repealed by Parliament – unlike "true" federations such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where the constituent states share sovereignty with the federal government). Attempts to extend devolution to the various regions of England have stalled, and the fact that Parliament functions both as a British and as an English legislature has created some dissatisfaction (see, for example, the article on the "West Lothian question
West Lothian question
The West Lothian question refers to issues concerning the ability of Members of Parliament from constituencies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to vote on matters that only affect people living in England...
").
Other constitutional reforms
The LabourLabour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government under past-Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
instituted sweeping constitutional reforms in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s. The effective incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
has granted citizens specific positive rights and given the judiciary some power to enforce them. The courts can put pressure on Parliament to amend primary legislation
Primary legislation
Primary legislation is law made by the legislative branch of government. This contrasts with secondary legislation, which is usually made by the executive branch...
that conflicts with the Act by means of "Declarations of Incompatibility" – however only of an advisory capacity as Parliament is not bound to amend the law nor can the judiciary void any statute – and can refuse to enforce, or "strike down", any incompatible secondary legislation. Any actions of government authorities that violate Convention rights are illegal except if mandated by an Act of Parliament.
These reforms have undermined the concept of Parliamentary sovereignty somewhat, even though Parliament could still abolish the devolved assemblies and repeal the Human Rights Act. In reality such action is unlikely so these restrictions on the legislative power of Parliament are likely to remain on the statute book for the time being.
Recent changes also include the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...
which alters the structure of the House of Lords to separate its judicial and legislative functions. For example the legislative, judicial and executive functions of the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
are now shared between the Lord Chancellor (executive), Lord Chief Justice (judicial) and the newly created post of Lord Speaker
Lord Speaker
The Lord Speaker is the speaker of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The office is analogous to the Speaker of the House of Commons: the Lord Speaker is elected by the members of the House of Lords and is expected to be politically impartial.Until July 2006, the role of...
(legislative). The role of Law Lord (a member of the judiciary in the House of Lords) was abolished by transferring them to the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the supreme court in all matters under English law, Northern Ireland law and Scottish civil law. It is the court of last resort and highest appellate court in the United Kingdom; however the High Court of Justiciary remains the supreme court for criminal...
in October 2009.
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
launched a "Governance of Britain" process when he took over as PM in 2007. This was an ongoing process of constitutional reform with the Ministry of Justice as lead ministry.
The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 is a piece of constitutional legislation. It enshrines in statute the impartiality and integrity of the UK Civil Service and the principle of open and fair recruitment. It enshrines in law the Ponsonby Rule
Ponsonby Rule
The Ponsonby Rule was a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom constitutional law that dictated that most international treaties had to be laid before parliament 21 days before ratification....
which requires that treaties are laid before Parliament before they can be ratified.
The Coalition Government, formed in May 2010, proposed a series of further Constitutional reforms in their coalition agreement. Consequently, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 and the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 were passed. The Acts will reduce the number of MPs in the House of Commons from 650 to 600, change the way the UK is divided into parliamentary constituencies, introduce a referendum on changing the system used to elect MPs and take the power to dissolve Parliament away from the monarch. The Coalition has also promised to introduce legislation on the reform of the House of Lords.
Key statutes and conventions
Below are listed some of the statutes that may be considered "constitutional" in nature and some of the more important conventions.Selected key English statutes
- Magna CartaMagna CartaMagna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
(1215) - Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 (repealed)
- Petition of RightPetition of rightIn English law, a petition of right was a remedy available to subjects to recover property from the Crown.Before the Crown Proceedings Act 1947, the British Crown could not be sued in contract...
(1628) - Instrument of GovernmentInstrument of GovernmentInstrument of Government may refer to:* Instrument of Government, constitution of the Commonwealth of England.* Constitutions of Sweden:** Instrument of Government ** Instrument of Government...
{1653} {replaced 1657–1st Constitution of England) - Humble Petition and AdviceHumble Petition and AdviceThe Humble Petition and Advice was the second, and last, codified constitution of England after the Instrument of Government.On 23 February 1657, during the sitting of the Second Protectorate Parliament, Sir Christopher Packe, a Member of Parliament and former Lord Mayor of London The Humble...
{1657} {2nd Constitution of England} - Habeas Corpus Act 1679Habeas Corpus Act 1679The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of King Charles II by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of habeas corpus, whereby persons unlawfully detained cannot be ordered to be...
- Bill of Rights 1689Bill of Rights 1689The Bill of Rights or the Bill of Rights 1688 is an Act of the Parliament of England.The Bill of Rights was passed by Parliament on 16 December 1689. It was a re-statement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 ,...
- Act of Settlement 1701Act of Settlement 1701The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England that was passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne on the Electress Sophia of Hanover and her Protestant heirs. The act was later extended to Scotland, as a result of the Treaty of Union , enacted in the Acts of Union...
(agreed to by Parliament of ScotlandParliament of ScotlandThe Parliament of Scotland, officially the Estates of Parliament, was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The unicameral parliament of Scotland is first found on record during the early 13th century, with the first meeting for which a primary source survives at...
as part of the Treaty of UnionTreaty of UnionThe Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
) - Union with Scotland Act 1706Acts of Union 1707The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
Selected key Scottish statutes
- Claim of Right 1689
- Act of Union 1707Acts of Union 1707The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
Selected key British statutes
- Act of Union 1800Act of Union 1800The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
– union of Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
& IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it.... - Reform Act 1832Reform Act 1832The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
- Reform Act 1867Reform Act 1867The Representation of the People Act 1867, 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102 was a piece of British legislation that enfranchised the urban male working class in England and Wales....
- Reform Act 1884
- Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
- Representation of the People Act 1918Representation of the People Act 1918The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act...
- Government of Ireland Act 1920Government of Ireland Act 1920The Government of Ireland Act 1920 was the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which partitioned Ireland. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill or as the Fourth Home Rule Act.The Act was intended...
- Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922The Irish Free State Act 1922 was an Act of the British Parliament passed on 31 March 1922. It gave the force of law to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was scheduled to the Act.-Main provisions:...
, Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922The Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, passed in 1922 to confirm the Constitution of the Irish Free State, and to ratify the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty....
, and Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922The Irish Free State Act 1922 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on 5 December 1922... - Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 [17 & 18 Geo. 5 c. 4] was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that authorised the alteration of the British monarch's royal style and titles, and altered the formal name of the British Parliament, in recognition of much of Ireland separating from...
- Representation of the People Act 1928Representation of the People Act 1928The Representation of the People Act 1928 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. This act expanded on the Representation of the People Act 1918 which had given some women the vote in Parliamentary elections for the first time after World War I. It widened suffrage by giving women...
- Statute of Westminster 1931Statute of Westminster 1931The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
- His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 was the Act of the British Parliament that allowed King Edward VIII to abdicate the throne, and passed succession to his brother Prince Albert, Duke of York . The Act also excluded any possible future descendants of Edward from the line of succession...
- Representation of the People Act 1949Representation of the People Act 1949The Representation of the People Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act consolidated previous electoral law, but also made some changes to administration....
- Life Peerages Act 1958Life Peerages Act 1958The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the monarch of the United Kingdom. Life peers are barons and are members of the House of Lords for life, but their titles and membership in the Lords are not inherited by their children. Judicial life...
- Representation of the People Act 1969Representation of the People Act 1969The Representation of the People Act 1969 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It extended suffrage to 18-20 year olds. Previously, only those 21 or over were permitted to vote...
- European Communities Act 1972European Communities Act 1972 (UK)The European Communities Act 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom providing for the incorporation of European Community law into the domestic law of the United Kingdom. It is not to be confused with the Irish law of the same name, Act No...
- Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973The Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which received the Royal Assent on 18 July 1973...
- Human Rights Act 1998Human Rights Act 1998The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
- Scotland Act 1998Scotland Act 1998The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is the Act which established the devolved Scottish Parliament.The Act will be amended by the Scotland Bill 2011, if and when it receives royal assent.-History:...
- Government of Wales Act 1998Government of Wales Act 1998This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998 This is about the Act that set up the Welsh Assembly. For the newer Government of Wales Act 2006, see that article.The Government of Wales Act 1998...
- Northern Ireland Act 1998Northern Ireland Act 1998The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
- House of Lords Act 1999House of Lords Act 1999The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
- Freedom of Information Act 2000Freedom of Information Act 2000The Freedom of Information Act 2000 is an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level...
- Constitutional Reform Act 2005Constitutional Reform Act 2005The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the Law Lords as well as some powers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and removed the functions of Speaker of...
- Government of Wales Act 2006Government of Wales Act 2006The Government of Wales Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reforms the National Assembly for Wales and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily...
Some important conventions
- Relating to monarchy
- The SovereignBritish monarchyThe monarchy of the United Kingdom is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6 February 1952. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties...
shall grant the Royal AssentRoyal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to all Bills passed by ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
(the Royal Assent was last refused by Queen AnneAnne of Great BritainAnne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
in 1708, for the Scottish Militia Bill 1708Scottish Militia Bill 1708The Scottish Militia Bill is the usual name given to a bill that was passed by the House of Commons and House of Lords of the Parliament of Great Britain in spring 1708, but vetoed by Queen Anne on the advice of her ministers on 11 March 1708 for fear that the proposed militia created would be...
, on the advice of her ministers). - The monarch will not dissolve ParliamentDissolution of the United Kingdom ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom is dissolved 17 days before a polling day as determined by the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011.Members of Parliament cease to be so, as soon as it is dissolved, and, although they and their staff continue to be paid until polling day, they may not enter the...
without the advice of the Prime Minister. - The monarch will ask the leader of the majority party in the House of CommonsBritish House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
to form a government, and if there is no majority party, the person who appears most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons to serve as Prime Minister and form a government. - The monarch will ask a member of the House of Commons (rather than the House of LordsHouse of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
or someone outside Parliament) to form a government. It remains possible, however, for a caretaker Prime Minister to be drawn from the House of Lords.
- The Sovereign
- All ministers are to be drawn from the House of Commons or the House of Lords.
- The House of Lords will accept any legislation that was in the Government's manifesto (the 'Salisbury ConventionSalisbury ConventionThe Salisbury Convention is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom which puts forward that the House of Lords will not oppose the second or third reading of any government legislation promised in its election manifesto.Following a landslide Labour general election victory in...
') – in recent years this convention has been broken by the Lords, though the composition of the Lords (which was the justification for the convention) has radically changed since the convention was introduced. - Individual Ministerial ResponsibilityMinisterial responsibilityMinisterial responsibility or individual ministerial responsibility is a constitutional convention in governments using the Westminster System that a cabinet minister bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of their ministry or department...
- Collective Ministerial Responsibility
See also
- :Category:English constitutionalists
- Commonwealth of Britain BillCommonwealth of Britain BillThe Commonwealth of Britain Bill was a bill first introduced in 1991 by Tony Benn, then a Labour Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It proposed abolishing the British monarchy, with the United Kingdom becoming a "democratic, federal and secular commonwealth", in...
- Constitutional government
- History of the British constitutionHistory of the British constitutionThe History of the Constitution of the United Kingdom is a story that begins before the creation of the United Kingdom itself and continues to the present day...
- History of democracyHistory of democracyThe history of democracy traces back to Athens to its re-emergence and rise from the 17th century to the present day. According to one definition, democracy is a political system in which all the members of the society have an equal share of formal political power...
- House of Lords Constitution CommitteeConstitution Committee (House of Lords)The Constitution Committee is a cross-party select committee of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Committee’s remit is “to examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming before the House; and to keep under review the operation of...
- MacCormick v Lord Advocate
- Ministry of JusticeMinistry of Justice (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
- Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)Royal Commission on the Constitution (United Kingdom)The Royal Commission on the Constitution, also referred to as the Kilbrandon Commission or Kilbrandon Report, was a long-running royal commission set up by Harold Wilson's Labour government to examine the structures of the constitution of the United Kingdom and the British Islands and the...
- Rights of EnglishmenRights of EnglishmenThe rights of Englishmen are the perceived traditional rights of British subjects. The notion refers to various constitutional documents that were created throughout various stages of English history, such as Magna Carta, the Declaration of Right , and others...
- Power InquiryPower InquiryThe POWER Inquiry was established in 2004 to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain. Its work is based on the primary belief that a healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens....
- Unlock DemocracyUnlock DemocracyUnlock Democracy is a UK pressure group, based in Islington, in London. The organisation campaigns for a more participatory democracy in the UK, founded upon a written constitution. Unlock Democracy works to promote democratic reform across the political spectrum and is not aligned with any...
Further reading
- Bradley, A.W. and Ewing, K.D., Constitutional and Administrative Law (Pearson, 2003), ISBN 0-582-43807-1
- Report on the British constitution and proposed European constitution by Professor John McEldowney, University of Warwick Submitted as written evidence to the House of Lords Select Committee on the ConstitutionConstitution Committee (House of Lords)The Constitution Committee is a cross-party select committee of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Committee’s remit is “to examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming before the House; and to keep under review the operation of...
, published to the public on 15 October 2003. - From Unwritten to Written: Transformation in the British Common-Law Constitution, David Jenkins, 2003
- Prof. Conor Gearty's 2007 lecture "Are judges now out of their depth?"