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Summary Sources and Nature of the Constituiton
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Component 2: Part 1 UK Governments - set of comprehensive notes full with case studies , statistics and facts for the AS & A-Level Politics course.
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NATURE AND SOURCES OF THE CONSTITUTION- Democracy is the type of government where everyone has a say
- It is the government of the people by the people for the people
- Direct democracy is voting directly to make a change not through representatives eg referendum
- Representative democracy is an individual voting for a person or party to act on their behalf eg
general elections where we vote for mps and an overall party to lead
WHAT IS A CONSTITUTION?
A constitution is a code of rules laying down the framework and powers of the government .the
government relationship with the governed is established it lays down who can do what and to
whom
WHY DO COUNTRIES HAVE CONSTITUTIONS ?
- In a political philosophy it is the idea of a social contract
- It distributes power within political systems
- Empowers states
- Protects the freedom of citizens
- Defines the purpose of a government
- Allows government stability
TYPES/ FEATURES OF CONSTITUTIONS:
- Codified constitution is where all main provisions are brought together in a single document
o eg US constitution
- Uncodified constitution is where the constitutional rules are written
o Eg Britain, New Zealand, Israel and Saudi Arabia
- Flexible constitutions are rare as they can be altered by a law making process .they are not
fundamental so there is no formal way of amending it therefore it is easy to make changes
o Eg in New Zealand and UK
- Rigid is when the principles and institutions assume the character of fundamental law .it is
particularly difficult to amend so no changes can be made without discussion
- Unitary is suitable in countries where there is no significant ethnic linguist or religious
differences .it is where all power is concentrated in the hands of one central government
o eg Britain ( Westminster)
- Federal is when there is a division in powers between national and regional
o eg USA States and Belgian provinces
BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT:
The executive is the branch of government responsible for directing the nations affairs they initiate
and execute laws and policies eg the UK government
The legislature is the branch of government responsible for discussing and passing laws .it acts as a
watchdog over the government
The judiciary are the court system eg judges
, SEPERATION & FUSION OF POWERS:
- Separation of powers is the ideology by Baron de Montesquieu that states that political power
should be divided between the executive legislative judiciary in order to prevent a concentration
of powers
- The UK has a Fusion of powers as the legislature and executive overlap for example the Prime
Minister the 23 ministers the chancellor of the exchequer and the home secretary in both the
executive and legislature
- The US has a separation of powers as all three sections are separate
SOURCES OF THE CONSTITUTION:
STATUTE LAW
Statutes are an act of parliament
Legislations are passed by both Houses of Parliament at Westminster and signed by
a monarch
The highest source of the UK law is Supreme law due to parliamentary sovereignty
Governments with a majority in the House of Commons are able to change the UK
constitution easily
Examples of statutes are:
The Magna Carta (1215)
o Magna Carta is a Royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of
England 1215
o Magna Carta is one of the most important documents in history is it
established the principle that everyone is subject to the law people
Bill Of Rights (1688)
o landmark act in the constitutional law of England that sets out
certain basic civil rights and clarifies who would be next to inherit
the Crown
Same Sex Marriage Act 2013
o This made them marriage of same sex couples legal
Freedom Of Information Act 2010
o this allowed anyone to request the information held by the British
government except if it is deemed a threat to national security
o this act led to the expenses scandal of 2011 as the Guardian
requested MP expenses information
Equality Act 2010
o protection against victimisation in the workplace
Eu Withdrawal Act 2016
o allowed the transfer of EU law into UK law including amending any
laws that will no longer operate appropriately
COMMON LAW
Common law includes case law ,judge law and legal precedent
It is law built on judges decisions when dealing with cases where statute law is
lacking or unclear
It is based on tradition custom and legal precedent
It is constantly changing
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