Summary

Summary Constitutional Law

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Module
Constitutional Law

Institution
Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)

An in-depth summary of the Principles of Constitutional law. All knowledge gained from textbooks, lecture notes, and professionals covering this area of law. 5000+ word document

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Uploaded on December 12, 2022
Number of pages 20
Written in 2021/2022
Type Summary

constitute
constitutional law
bill of rights
case
democracy
constitutional principles
statute
parliament
act
royal prerogative
treaties
echr
house of commons
house of lords
legislative function
leg
eu

Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law is a body of rules, governing the affairs of an organised group.
- The institutions (Parliament, Government, Judiciary, the Crown).
- The nature, extent and distribution of powers within those institutions (legislative,
executive and judicial powers).
- The forms and procedures through which such powers should be exercised.
- The relationship between the institutions of government and the individual citizen, often
expressed in the term “Bill of Rights.”

The key characteristics of the British Constitution:
1. A product of history
2. Uncodified (partially written)
3. Non-entrenched
4. Unitary
5. Constitutional monarchy
6. Parliament as sovereign

The history of the constitution is made up
from:
Magna Carta 1215
Bill of Rights 1689
Representation of the People Act 1832
Parliament Act 1911
House of Lords Act 1999
Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Statute Law is created by the legislator through “Acts of Parliament.” Legislation can be
primary or secondary.
Delegated Legislation is made under powers conferred by an Act of Parliament.
Judicial Decision consists of rules of law formulated to deal with those disputes for which
there are no statutory prescriptions. This remains a significant source of law in relation to
certain elements of the constitution.

The term royal prerogative
applies to those ancient powers
and immunities – once exercised
by the Monarch personally and
though to be a natural attribute
of the Monarch’s constitutional
pre-eminence.

,Laws and conventions both rely on acceptance for their functioning. Constitutional
conventions do not require a procedure for their creation. If they become obsolete, they
can be dispensed without any formal step being taken. The main difference is that
conventions cannot be enforced within the courts, yet laws can.
An International Treaty is an international agreement concluded between States in written
form and governed by international law.
There are two different theories to the relationship between international and national law:
Dualism – This emphasises the difference between national and international law (treaties
indirectly effective – they must be incorporated into domestic law).
Monism – Domestic and international legal systems form a unity (treaties directly effective).

The UK is a dualist state. International law required a further action to become domestic
law. European Convention on Human Rights incorporated (partly) into UK law via the
Human Rights Act 1998. There are some exceptions to dualism in the UK:

- Treaties of the EU.
- Treaty provisions are directly applicable. They take effect without further legislation by the
member state.
- Must be clear and unconditional.
- “Directly effective” – they create rights immediately enforceable by individuals either
vertically (against the state) or horizontally (against the individual).
After BREXIT, some EU law will
be carried into the UK.
The European Union
Withdrawal Act 2018 provides a
new constitutional framework
for the continuity of ‘retained
EU law’ in the UK, replacing the
EU treaties that were in place.

The UK is a parliamentary democracy. Parliament is Bicameral - made up of the House of
Common and the House of Lords.

19th Century onwards –
Representation of The People Act 1948 & Reform Act 1832.
Parliament Acts 1911/1948.
House of Lords Act 1999.
Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011.

, House of Commons
Made up from 650 elected members of parliament, elected from England, Scotland,
Northern Ireland, and Wales. 650 constituents with 320 MP’s needed for a working
majority.

House of Commons and Democracy:
- General Elections.
- Franchise & Electorate.
- Voting & Standing in elections.
General Elections
Determine membership of the House of Determine which political party forms the
Commons. government. Government ministers are
drawn from the party with more than half
the seats in the Commons.
Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011:
- General Elections take place at least every 5 years.
- ‘Universal adult suffrage’ – Every British citizen over 18 has the right to vote.

Representation of the People Act 1918:
- Abolished the property qualification.
- Extended the franchise to women 30 and over.

Representation of the People Act 1928:
- Women 21 and over were enfranchised.

Family Law Reform Act 1969:
- Age qualification reduced to 18 years.

First Past the Post Voting System
A majority voting system, where the winner takes all. Issues with this system include:
 Equality – everyone’s vote should count equally, but this system does not ensure
this.
 Disproportional – the number of seats doesn’t accurately reflect the number of votes
cast. Larger parties tend to win more seats than they deserve, meaning smaller
parties lose out.

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