COSTITUTION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

1. COSTITUTION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

2. What is the costitution of the United Kingdom? Acts of Parliament Treaties EU law Common law Conventions Royal prerogative Works of authority

3. What is the costitution of the United Kingdom? The constitution of the United Kingdomis the set of laws and principles under which the United Kingdom is governed.

4. There is a big difference between the British costitution and those of the others nations: the UK has no single constituition (“unwritten” or de facto costituition). The British costitution has: written form of statutes, court judgments and Treaties unwritten sources, including parliamentary constitutional conventions and the royal prerogatives.

5. The British constitution has traditionally been the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty: the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law. When the UK became membership of the European Union, it has to apply all EU law in common with other members (the European Communities Act 1972). Changing attitudes may also be seen among the judiciary.

6. ACTS OF PARLIAMENT Acts of Parliament are laws or statutes that have received the approval of Parliament (the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons). They are the most important sources of the constitution.

7. TREATIES Treaties don’t automatically become incorporated into UK law, though they are still binding on the UK in international law. Important treaties have been incorporated into domestic law by means of Acts of Parliament.

8. EU LAW • EU law appears as simply a subcategory of international law that depends for its effect on a series of international treaties • EU law represents a new legal regime which is different from other forms of international law and which takes precedence over the internal legal and constitutional arrangements of member states.

9. COMMON LAW The United Kingdom uses the common law and civil law legal systems, court judgments also commonly form a source of the constitution.

10. CONVENTIONS Many British constitutional conventions are ancient in origin. Such conventions aren’t formally enforceable in a court of law: they are primarily observed "because of the political difficulties which arise if they are not."

11. ROYAL PREROGATIVE The royal prerogative is the collective name for a collection of powers belonging to the Sovereign which have no statutory basis. The Royal Prerogative is not unlimited: the Case of Proclamations (1611) confirmed that no new prerogative can be created and that Parliament can abolish individual prerogatives.

12. The extent of the royal prerogative has never been delineated, but it includes the following powers: • The power to make war and peace • The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament • The power to regulate the Civil Service • The power to ratify treaties • The power to issue passports.

13. WORKS OF AUTHORITY Works of authority are works that are sometimes cited as interpretations of aspects of the UK constitution, written by nineteenth- or early-twentieth-century constitutionalists.

14. Flexibility The modern British constitution: • Emerged from a process of evolution. • It is responsive to political and social change. • Changes could in theory be made without popular support. • No modern statute or document that attempted to codify the rights of citizens.

15. Key principles • Parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law. • Unitary state. • Constitutional monarchy.

16. Parliamentary supremacy and the rule of law A.V. Dicey wrote of the "twin pillars" of the British constitution: • The principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. • The rule of law everyone is equal before the law.

17. Unitary state • The UK is a unitary state rather than a federation or a confederation. • The authority of local and devolved bodies are dependent on Acts of Parliament, and they can in principle be abolished at the will of the UK Parliament in London.

18. Constitutional monarchy The Queen reigns, but she does not rule

19. Government and Parliament The Government is "fused" with Parliament: there is no formal restraint on the legislative power of the executive. BUT Some principles of the constitution would be extremely difficult to abolish because they are so ancient in the UK's political culture.

20. Disputes about the nature of the UK Constitution • The UK does not have a constitution, it can be considered a compromise between crown and parliament. • A Constitution would impose limits on the power of the Parliament. • Proponents of a codified constitution argue it would strengthen the legal protection of democracy and freedom.

21. Definition of English Constitution • The English Constitution is a book written in 1867 by Walter Bagehot • The book became a standard work which was translated into several languages • Bagehot explores the functioning of Parliament and the British monarchy and the contrasts between British and American government.

22. Characteristics • It defined the rights and role of a monarch vis-à-vis, a government as three-fold: • The right to be consulted • The right to advise • The right to warn • The constitution is organized into two components: • the Dignified (that symbolic part) • the Efficient (the way things actually work and get done).

23. English and American system compared by Bagehot • “A parliamentary system (England) educates the public, while a presidential system (America) corrupts it.” • British Constitution: principle of choosing a single sovereign authority, and making it good • American Constitution: principle of having many sovereing authorities, hoping that many of them may atone for their inferiority. Having many authorities is still in act only because of American’s reguard for law and for their “genius for politics”.

24. KEY STATUTES AND CONVENTIONS

25. Some key statutes • Habeas Corpus Act 1679 • Representation of the people Act 1918 • Irish free state Constitution Act 1922 • Representation of the People Act 1949 • European Communities Act 1979 • Freedom of Information Act 2000

26. Habeas Corpus Act 1679 Act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of King Charles II to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of habeas corpus, where by persons unlawfully detained can be ordered to be prosecuted before a court of law.

27. Representation of the people Act 1918 • Reformed the electoral system in the United Kingdom. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. • Abolished practically all property qualifications for men and enfranchised women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications. The enfranchisement of this latter group was accepted as recognition of the contribution made by women defence workers. However, women were still not politically equal to men (who could vote from the age of 21); full electoral equality wouldn't occur until the Representation of the People Act 1928.

28. Irish free state Constitution Act 1922 • Preamble made up by five clauses, three of which are very brief, and two schedules. • Introduced by the Prime Minister Lloyd George in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. • The Preamble bases the Constitution on the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 6 December 1921.

29. Representation of the People Act 1949 • It prohibited those attending top universities (such as Oxford and Cambridge) from voting for a university MP and essentially ceased the practice of plural voting. • Those on the UK electoral register were only allowed to vote once, and to vote in one constituency in any general election, and thus vote only once, even if for some reasons they were registered in more than one.

30. European Communities Act 1972 • Provides the incorporation of European Community law into the domestic legal order of the United Kingdom. • It is not to be confused with the European Communities Act 1972 (Ireland) which did the same thing for the Republic of Ireland.

31. Freedom of Information Act 2000 • Implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United Kingdom on a national level. • Introduces a public "right to know" in relation to public bodies. • Implements a manifesto commitment of the Labour Party in the 1997 general election. • The full provisions of the act came into force on 1 January 2005.

32. In England there is not a written constitution, but a collection of: • Conventions • Statutes

33. CONVENTION • What is it? • How many kinds of conventions are there?

34. Convention/s • The recognition by the convention of the preceding parliamentary process as having come to an end of its powers in terms of determining future parliamentary proceedings • The implicit self-empowerment of the parliamentary convention to act in place of the preceding process, thereby establishing its own legitimacy in determining the future of parliamentary proceedings

35. How many conventions are there? The term Convention Parliament has been applied to three different English Parliaments: • Convention Parliament of 1399 • Convention Parliament of 1660 • Convention Parliament of 1689

36. What’s it? • It is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a country, state, city, or county • It commands or prohibits something, or declare policy

37. STATUTE/S • What is a statute? • How many statutes are there?

38. How many statutes are there? • Human Rights • General Provisions • Integrity • Legal Protection

39. Human Rights • The remedy of “Habeas Corpus” secures the individual’s rights to freedom from any unlawful or arbitrary detention. • Abolition of death penalty

40. General provisions • All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, endowed with reason and conscience, and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. • All human beings have job right

41. Integrity • Everyone has the right to life, Liberty, and the security of person. • No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading are prohibited. • All marriages are registered by the State. It is unlawful to force anyone to marry against his or her will or to bring about a marriage by fraudulent means • Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.

42. Legal protection • Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. • All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. • Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law. • Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal

43. HUMAN RIGHTS - LIBERTIES - 15. Personal Liberty EVERYONE HAS A LEGAL RIGHT TO PERSONAL LIBERTY

44. LIBERTIES 15. Personal Liberty • 1.ARRESTS IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS • the police must normally obtain a warrant before arresting someone • they have power to arrest a suspect without warrant if he/she is reasonably suspected

45. LIBERTIES 15. Personal Liberty • 2. AN ARRESTED PERSON HAS THE RIGHT TO: • consult a solicitor • ask the police to notify a relative to take an interest in his/her welfare • consult the code of practice regarding tratment in police custody

46. LIBERTIES 15. Personal Liberty • 3. CONSULTATION • solicitors are available on a 2-hour basis to offer free legal advice • the police must caution a suspect before any questions are put (right of silence)

47. LIBERTIES 15. Personal Liberty 4. DETENTION • the suspect may not normally be detained for more than 24 hours (in case of a serious arrestable offence for up to 36) • after 36 hours the police must obtain authority from a court to detain the suspect (not beyond 96 hours)

48. LIBERTIES 15. Personal Liberty 5.Tape recording of interviews with suspected offenders at police station are universal practice 6. HABEAS CORPUS Anyone who thinks his/her detention is illegal may apply to the High Court for a writ of habeas corpus against a person detaining him/her

49. LIBERTIES 15. Personal Liberty 7. BAIL Most accused people are released on bail pending trial; they are not remanded in custody except when strictly necessary

50. HUMAN RIGHTS - LIBERTIES - 16.Right of Privacy EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO THE PROTECTION OF THE LAW AGAINST INTERFERNCE WITH HIS/HER PRIVACY OR ATTACKS UPON HIS HONOUR AND REPUTATION