Complete Public Law lecture notes for the LLB syllabus. From Rule of Law to Parliamentary Sovereignty, Judicial Review and everything in between needed to ace your exams! This electronic - user friendly document contains all the key cases and points to secure first class honours. I have added a li...
The Relationship Between UK Law & the European Court of Human Rights 71
Victim Rights & Benefits under the Human Rights Act 71
The Burdens of Benefits under the Human Rights Act 72
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This document is meant to serve as a reference
,The Purpose of Constitutions
In principle, a constitution of a nation-state guarantees the following:
● The creation of basic state/government institutions (for example offices for the executive, legislative
and judicial authorities).
● A definition of the powers of the established state/government institutions and their
interrelationships (for example the number of votes in the legislature which is required to overrule an
executive order).
● Protection of individual rights in relation to state/government institutions and their operation (for
example guaranteeing the right to vote for women).
Codified vs. Uncodified Constitutions
A nation-state may either have a codified or uncodified constitution.
● A codified constitution is a single legally-binding document containing many (not all) of the
governing and legal rules of a state (examples include most of the world, including the United States
& India).
● An uncodified constitution is a multitude of legally-binding documents which each contain a portion
of the governing and legal rules of a state (only a minority of countries use this system, including the
United Kingdom & New Zealand).
However this is not a black-and-white scenario, there may exist different levels of consolidation within the
group of states which use a codified constitution. For example:
● In comparison to the constitution of the United States (85 pages) the Indian constitution (400 pages)
contains more of the governing and legal rules of the state. Therefore, the Indian constitution is more
consolidated within a single document than its American counterpart.
Sources of Law for the UK Constitution
The United Kingdom has an uncodified constitution which is constructed from several sources including:
● Acts passed and ratified by the legislative branch1 (for example the 1689 Bill of Rights & 1707 Union
Act between England & Scotland). The most significant changes to the UK constitution are
produced through this source.
● Precedents set by common law which are derived from the rulings judges pass on specific legal cases
(for example Entick vs. Carrington (1765) 19 St Tr 1030).
● Precedents set by the interpretation of existing constitutional laws (for example cases on the 1998
Human Rights Act).
● The decisions of constitutional convention, which are the non-legal rules of the constitution which
set the ‘rules and norms’ governing the conduct of the Monarchy (for example, constitutional
convention stipulates that the Monarch appoint the Prime Minister who is the leader of the
party/coalition with a legislative majority in the House of Commons).
1
UK Parliament
This is a bicameral legislature. The House of Commons is the Lower House & the House of Lords is the Upper House.
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This document is meant to serve as a reference
, ● The exercise of prerogative (executive) powers by the Head of Government (Prime Minister) or
Head of State (the Monarch). (for example the appointment of the Prime Minister by the Monarch).
● Provisions set by international law and multinational treaties (for example the 1998 Human Rights
Act of Parliament which allows for the enforcement of verdicts from the European Court of Human
Rights on UK soil). Treaties are not considered to be part of UK law unless ratified by the legislative
branch. However, even if they are not ratified, treaties can have an important influence on state
conduct.
○ Common law aims to interpret UK law in accordance with UK treaty obligations where
possible.
Core Principles of the UK Constitution
These are the core principles on which the UK constitution is organized and interpreted:
● The doctrine of Parliamentary Supremacy/Sovereignty is a distinctive element of the UK
constitution. It entails that the laws and decisions of Parliament hold preeminence and precedent
over the verdicts of the judiciary.
● The Rule of Law establishes the significance and importance of law. It mainly covers two main
points:
○ Equality: Everyone in a state is accountable to its laws and that includes the institutions as
well as the individual personalities operating within a government.
○ Legal Authority: The state (government) must have a legal mandate for all its actions. It
cannot act outside the constraints of the law or established constitutional norms (see: sources
of law for more details).
● The doctrine of Separation of Powers seeks to answer the question of which legal powers do
particular political figures (Head of State or Head of Government) or institutions (for example the
legislative or judicial bodies) within a state have.
● The collective political practices which ensure Accountability from all state institutions to the public.
There must be a legal mechanism to investigate and prosecute state institutions or government
figures should they overstep their powers or act without legal authority.
Core Institutions of the UK Government
Constitutional power in the UK is divided between three bodies, the executive branch, the legislative
branch and the judicial branch.
● The highest authority in the judicial branch is the Supreme Court, which holds jurisdiction over all
the component nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland). The
role of this branch is to create and interpret law by setting legal precedents dependent on verdicts
passed on disputes.
○ If parliamentary laws conflict with previous legislative decisions or if a parliamentary law is
unclear, it falls to the judicial branch to “refine” and clarify the situation. This ultimately
changes our understanding of UK law through legal precedent. However, the judicial branch
cannot strike down laws passed by the legislature.
Сonsult your own legal counsel about exact wording
This document is meant to serve as a reference
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