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The UK constitution is not in a compiled form which makes the
parliament supreme instead of constitution. If the UK has a
codified constitution then its constitution will be sovereign as
compared to parliament. The UK parliament is the only law-making
body, and it can make and unmake any law. AV Dicey said
"Parliamentary sovereignty means that it has the right to make or
unmake any law no matter what it is about and further that the
law of England recognises no person or body as having a right to
override or set". As in case Marbury v Madison (1801), the courts
held that "even the judiciary can't even challenge or terminate
the reviews of the parliament; it was only entitled and obliged
to undertake the judicial review". The Constitution in the UK is
the highest form of the law. The Uk has an uncodified
constitution that is why its constitution is flexible. In 1972,
the UK parliament passed the law by which the UK became a part of
the European Union. This shows that the UK constitution is
flexible. If the UK constitution was codified, then its
constitution will be rigid, and if it is rigid, then they have to
make changes in their constitution, which is a very tough
process. (AC1.3)
Constitutional convention plays the main role as being part of
the uncodified British constitution. Conventions are not law, but
in many aspects they are as important as law. It is not legal
therefore, law courts cannot enforce it. Even though the Marshal
and Moodie stated that "Rules of constitutional behaviour are
considered to be binding by and upon those who regulate the
constitution but which are not implemented by the law courts nor
by the governing officers in the house of parliament". It
describes conventions as rules which require further description.
According to Hart, "a rule is defined as a statement prescribing
the conduct which is necessary for a given situation and which
imposes a responsibility on those who are governed by the rule".
So the conventions play important roles in uncodified law to
implement the laws in an easy way, but conventions can't be
forced by the judiciary as the law is forced. (ACM1.1)
The UK is a "unitary state" in the sense that it has no
entrenched separation of powers between different levels of
government, so all powers are chosen by the central government,
so the parliaments and assemblies in Scotland, Wales, and
Northern Ireland are comparable in powers with sub-national units
in some formally federal governments they only exist because of
legislation by the central government. So the central government
is supreme among them. The central government may abolish
, administrative division and that divisions exercise only that
powers which are delegated by the central government. In simple
words, the central government can choose to give powers to the
devolving assemblies and local councils. In McEldowney's words
"Devolution provides various powers to the nations, as a form of
self-government" maintains the sovereignty of the UK Parliament.
It is significant to be clear in
defining devolution, where powers are transferred but the UK
Parliament does not relinquish any of its sovereignty, from a
formal federal system. The united kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland is the best example of a unitary state.
Monarchy is the oldest form of government in the UK. The monarchy
system of British is also known as a constitutional monarchy. In
a monarchy system of government, the Queen is the head of the
state. The monarch's roles were strictly contaminated by
constitutional convention. In the words of Bradley and Ewing,
'the Queen may reign, but it is the PM and other ministers who
rule'. In the early 17th century this was made clear by Lord Coke
in the case of proclamations which say that 'the monarch's hath
no prerogative, but that which the law of the land allows him'.
Which means that the Crown had no power to change the common law
or statute or to create the new offences. (AC1.1)
A constitution is a legislative which is formed in a country to
maintain its rules and laws for keeping peace and in order to
achieve success. The UK parliament consists of judiciary,
legislative and executive. It determines the relation between
these three main bodies of the state. The main role of the UK
constitution is the separation of power and to show that the
parliament is sovereign. Secondly, the UK constitution protects
the fundamental rights of people and their freedom and also
creates a relationship between the government and individuals.
Parliament, judiciary and executive, are the three basic
characters of the UK constitution.
The UK parliament is sovereign due to its uncodified
constitution. It consists of the House of Lords and House of
Commons. The UK parliament has unlimited powers. John Bright
remarked in 1865 that "England is the Mother of Parliaments"
because the British parliament has been the role model for most
of the parliamentary systems and its Act have created many other
parliaments. The Queen is an integral part of the institution of
parliament. The Queen plays a constitutional role in opening and
dissolving parliament and approving Bills before they become law
and she also gave royal ascents. Dicey stated about the
parliament's sovereignty that "it has positive and negative
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