The following document contains all the concise notes and important information, a student should be aware of while studying the first chapter of the Public Law Course, which is mandatory for all students that want to obtain an LLB degree from the University of London.
Law is a set of rules that are enforced in courts, whereas, constitution are special rules which
are applied on state officials.
What is a constitution and why does it matter?
A constitution is a set of rules which regulates or governs the behavior of the state officials.
These rules ultimately lead to executive, legislative and judiciary bodies to enforce law so that
citizens can abide by it.
The term ‘constitution’ refers to the principles, rules and laws that establish and underpin a
political system. The constitution creates and defines the powers of different political
institutions and determines how they should relate to each other. It sets out the limits of these
powers and regulates the relationship between the state and its citizens.
Constitutions place both limitations and obligations on governmental organizations in their
relationship with the people, and provide opportunities for the public to influence the political
process.
For example, if the state wants to legislate a new law, “murder is a crime”, it shall be done so by
the legislative body. Executive body shall then carry out that law and Judiciary shall interpret
the law, making sure it sets a precedent. Now in order for the executive body and judiciary to
do that law must be constituted / be a part of the constitution.
Types of state officials
Legislature Executive Judiciary
(law making body) (law implementing body) (law interpreting body)
Hereinafter referred to as LEJ
Two types of constitutions are:
• Codified constitution (written constitution in a single book form)
• Uncodified constitution (which is not contained in a single written document)
, ➢ In most of the modern states there exist a codified constitution, which is available in
writing and in a single source/arrangement. All modern countries have a codified
constitution, except for UK, New Zealand and Israel, A codified constitution means a
single text which contains all the constitutional rules. Example: Pakistan.
➢ However, the constitutional rules and practices in UK are not available in a single text
and hence, it has an uncodified constitution (not written in a single source). The
constitution is found in various different sources such as statutes (acts of Parliament),
common law and conventions.
➢ The constitution of UK is mainly divided in to three different sources;
AOP
LEGAL
LEGAL COMMON
LAW
CONVENTIONS
NOT LEGAL
(uncodified/unwritten)
• Acts of Parliament
These are the laws enacted by the parliament, only those acts of parliament are regarded as
part of the constitution, which are regulating the state's behavior, Examples of constitutional
statutes include:
1. Magna Carta (1215) - this document restricted the King's powers to punish a person without
the proof of a crime.
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