Principles of the British Constitution
Introduction
The U.K lacks a specific constitutional text for reference purposes. In its place, is a series of laws and principles that comprise of the country’s body politic. The body politic is sometimes known as uncodified constitution. U.K. Therefore, what the Queen consents in parliament is law, implying that the parliament uses the power of the crown to enact indisputable laws. Therefore, parliamentary sovereignty is the most important principle of the U.K constitution. Other important principles of the U.K constitution are the sources of the constitution, rule of law, unity and devolution, and important conventions. These principles offset the challenges associated with an uncodified or unwritten constitution.
Parliamentary Supremacy
The principle of parliamentary supremacy states that a piece of legislation, statutes, produced and passed by the parliament are the highest forms of law within the constitution. That is, the British parliament is a sovereign law maker. Dicey states that the parliament reserves the right make or unmake any law, and British laws do not allow any individual or body to overrule or reserve the legislations. In that case, the parliament has the right to legislate on any issue and its deliberations are final. The legislation can neither be altered nor its structure questioned. For instance, the British parliament passed the Act of Settlement of 1700 which restricted the succession of English and Irish crowns to Protestants. Also, the parliament passed the Nigeria Independence Act of 1960 which made Nigeria an independent and sovereign state within the Common Wealth. However, parliamentary supremacy is limited by the plurality of sources of the U. K constitution to give significance to the European Union and statues of the constitution.
Sources
The British Constitution is drawn from a number of sources which include: statute law, common law, Conventions, Work of Authority, and the legislation and treaties of the European Union. Statutes are the laws passed by the parliament, and are the regarded as the most important sources of law due to parliamentary sovereignty. Common law is produced by court judgement in the England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, and but not Scotland due to its hybrid system. An example of a historically significant court judgement is the one reached in Campbell vs. Hall which expanded constitutional limitation to all territories with representatives in the national assembly. Also, Entick v Carrington restricted the executive power. Conventions are uncodifed practices that have developed with time and now control governance. For example, the Salisbury-Addison Convention which prevents the House of Lords from opposing the second or third reading of pieces of legislation forwarded by government with the intention to fulfill its election manifesto. Another source of U.K laws are international treaties and legislation such as those of the European Union. For example, the European Convention of Human rights was incorporated into the British law through the Human Rights of 1988. Lastly, Works of Authorities are considered a source of the U.K constitution and came into existence as a result of lack of the one constitutional document. Therefore, British politicians and legal experts often rely on constitutional interpretations to identify and comprehend the elements of the constitution. The works of authoritative figures such as A.V Dicey and Erkine May have been considered while interpreting the constitution.
Rule of Law
Although numerous interpretations of the meaning of rule of law exist, Dicey’s version is much applicable and relevant to U.K’s case. The idea of the rule of law is not originally his because he adopted it from Edward Coke’s concept. Dicey defends Britain’s system of uncodified constitution and argues that it is beneficial to the British society. Dicey’s understanding of the rule of law is underlined in three principles. First, no individual should be punished by the authorities except if he or she violates the provisions of the law. That is, the government can only take an action on an individual or an issue within the means provided by the law. Second, no person is above the law and everyone, regardless of social status, gender, rank, and any other defining factor must obey the law. Finally, the bill of rights is redundant because the overall principle of the constitution is drawn from judicial decisions determined by the rights of a private person. Dicey’s concept of the rule of law proposes that the government should practice restraint because it does not hold ultimate powers over its citizens. As a result, there should be legal boundaries on its operations, and none of its officials is above the law. Dicey’s ideas on the rule of law were evident in Liversidge v Anderson when the House of Lords ruled that courts were not empowered to examine the detention directives of a Home Secretary without a justified warrant. Also, in Entick v Carrington, a reflection of Dicey’s concept of rule of law is shown by the court’s affirmation of the illegality of warrants of entry and search issued by a home secretary.
Unity and Devolution
Britain is made of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. However, the U.K is a unitary state and is neither a federation nor a confederation because its parliament does not have an equal number of representatives from each of the countries. Instead, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and have their own parliaments. However, England does not have a devolved legislature. Each of the devolved parliaments draws its authority from the Statues and can be dissolved by the British Parliament. In spite of that, statues passed by these devolved parliaments cannot be altered nor ignored. In addition, British parliament cannot dissolve the Scottish parliament and government without a referendum in the country. For instance, it is due to the constitutional principle of unity and devolution that Scotland held a referendum to allow its citizens determine whether to remain as part of the U.K or claim independent. In addition, in conformation of the principle of unity and devolution, it is politically impossible for the British parliament to pass a legislation to abolish the parliaments of Wales and Scotland.
Important Conventions
A constitutional convention is an unofficial and unwritten procedural deliberation that is abode by a state’s institution. There are various constitutional conventions followed in Britain. For example, the procedure that a monarch, queen or king, shall assent all bills passed by the parliament is a constitutional convention. With the exception of Queen Anne’s refusal to consent to the Scottish Militia Bill of 1708, all other monarchs have assented all bills by passed by legislature. Another example of a constitutional convention is the one that requires the monarch to request the leader of majority party of the House of Commons to form and lead government. Also, the age-old requirement that all ministers must be drawn from the House of Lords or Commons is a constitutional convention. Although it is appropriate to abide by all the constitutional conventions, it is not necessary. For example, ministers influenced Queen Anne’s refusal to assent the Scottish Militia Bill of 1708.
Conclusion
The core principles of the British constitution are parliamentary supremacy, sources of the constitution, rule of law, unity and devolution, and important devolution. Parliamentary sovereignty is the most important principle of the U.K constitution as it makes statues the highest laws of the Kingdom. These principles of British constitution offset the challenges that come with an uncodified constitution. For example, the parliamentary supremacy grants the legislature right make or unmake any law to fulfill the irrevocability of the law. Also, constitutional conventions provide guidance to political issues that would have otherwise been hard to codify.
chris10 answered the question on March 27, 2018 at 17:06