Sources and principles of the UK constitution

Entrenched

a provision that makes certain amendments more difficult or impossible to pass

Unentrenched

constitution can be ammended with an act of parliament

Codified constitution

constitution written in one single document

Uncodified constitution

constitution not written in one single document

Parliamentary sovereignty

parliament is the supreme legal authority so can create or end any law

Rule of law

laws apply equally to every citizen including govt

Unitary state

centralised power and central govt has ultimate authority

Federal state

power shared and dispersed, power of central govt limited by sovereign power of lower levels of authority which it has no authority over

Devolution

transfer of powers to subnational assemblies from central govt, central govt retains sovereign so could reclaim them

Two pillars of the UK constitution

Rule of law, parliamentary sovereignty

Statute law

Parliamentary bill approved by both houses + given royal assent, no greater authority

Example of a statute law

Marriage act 2013

Conventions

accustomed way that political activity carried out, not legally binding, constitutional significance derives from tradition

Example of a convention

2003 - Blair allowed HOC to vote on supporting military action in Iraq, now parl consulted over commitment of British forces to military operations

Landmark decisions

historical events that contribute towards the constitution

Example of a landmark decision

Bill of rights 1689

Common law

Judgments made by judges in important legal cases, sets precedent for future cases

Example of common law

1991 R v R - husband could be guilty of raping his wife

Authoritative works

Texts written by experts that explain how the UK constitution works, not legally binding

Example of an authoritative work

A V Dicey’s Introduction to the law of the constitution 1885

Treaties

A written international agreement made between two or more political entities

Example of a treaty

Treaty of accession to the European economic community 1972