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Examine the different natures of the UK and US constitution
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Examine the different natures of the Uk and Us constitutionCodified /uncodified
Entrenched /Unentrenched
Difficult to amend /easy to amend
The first difference between these two constitutional types is their source. A codified
constitution is contained within one single document, whereas the source of an uncodified
constitution and therefore the British one is spread across all sorts of different documents.
In America the whole constitution, both the original text and its subsequent amendments, is
contained entirely in a single document. This gives the constitution clarity and accessibility,
and all citizens and institutions can find and read the document easily. It is also arguable
that having a codified constitution also raises awareness of the nation's constitutional
arrangements, as they are often written after a significant historical event. Furthermore, a
codified constitution protects the individual rights of the American citizens, due to the Bill of
rights which was passed in 1791, shortly after the constitution was created. The bill of rights
is a method to protect the rights of individuals against government power. Nevertheless, the
US bill of rights also focuses on protecting the states against the federal Government to
make sure that the federal Government cannot become a dictatorship and gain too much
power. On the other hand, the British uncodified constitution is spread across all sorts of
different documents and has not got specific documents, which protect the individual rights
in the Uk. Unlike in the United States the British constitution doesn’t protect parliament
from gaining an elective dictatorship, as it almost happened with Tony Blair in 1997, where
he and the Labour party gained a large majority. This could become a massive problem as
the party in power could pass every piece of legislation they would want to.
Another difference is the number of powers, which each Parliament has got. The British
constitution is unentrenched, which means that the power lies in Parliament, while the
United States have got an entrenched constitution, where the power lies in the federal
Government, as well as the states. An entrenched constitution means that there are
entrenched Rights those rights, which are explicitly protected by the Constitution. These
rights have a special status and are immune from change by political whims through
legislation. To change them, a Constitutional Amendment will be required and therefore a
super large majority in both houses of representatives, senate and ¾ of the states.
Furthermore, the powers to reign in the US are fixed, which means there is no chance for
either states, or the federal Government to gain more power. On the other hand, you have
got the British unentrenched constitution, which allows Parliament to give power out to the
devolved countries, like Scotland and Northern Ireland. Unlike in the Us, these powers can
be taken away, as the UK is governed based on the principle of parliamentary sovereignty.
The UK Constitution is easy to amend and change, due to the principle of parliamentary
sovereignty. It can be changed simply by passing an Act of Parliament with a simple
majority. For example, the constitutional relationship between Scotland and the UK was
redefined in the 1998 Scotland Act. In contrast, the US Constitution is much more difficult to
amend. Amendments in the USA must be passed with a two-thirds majority in both the
House of Representatives and the Senate, which makes it almost impossible as both houses
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