Introduction It is quite a complicated question whether the UK really has a constitution in its modern sense. Back in the 18th century it was not even a question; the British constitution was recognized and celebrated for its democratic spirit, particularly by French Enlighteners and some of the American Founding Fathers. But since the Americans have decided to write down their principles of government into a document and to call it “Constitution,” and a lot of other countries, such as the newly-freed Latin American colonies, followed their example, the term “constitution” is mostly associated with a document. As the UK does not have a single document of such a kind, it is sometimes claimed that the country does not have a constitution at …show more content…
Hence, the UK has a constitution, even though it is not codified, and the requirements to codify it has nothing to do with its validity as an acting constitution. The Definition of a Constitution The first step to find out whether the UK has a constitution is to determine what exactly constitution is. According to Oxford Dictionary of law, “constitution” is defined as “the rules and practices that determine the composition and functions of the organs of central and local government in a state and regulate the relationship between the individual and the state” (Martin, 2003, p. 108). The dictionary entry further mentions that the majority of the countries dispose of a written document as their constitution. One of the main properties of such a disposal is a possibility to alter a constitution through a special procedure, whereas no such procedures are needed to change the statutes, of which the UK constitution partly consist. However, it also consists of common law rules and constitutional conventions (Martin, 2003, p. 108), which are hard or impossible to amend. Constitution establishes principles that dictate who is allowed to make laws and how, what should be the relations between the main institutions of government, what are the rights and freedoms of citizens and how those are protected and guaranteed (Elliott & Quinn, 2007, p. 1). In general, the term “constitution” refers to the set of rules, according to which a government
Constitutional reform is a process whereby the fundamental nature of the system of government is changed or where a change is proposed. In the UK this may also involve the process of codification. Since 1997 there has been many key reforms that have made UK more democratic by a large amount and sometimes not so much if at all.
There are various strengths of the UK constitution; these include the fact that the constitution is flexible, it protects the rights of citizens and finally it gives power to the executive. The UK and its constitution, in my opinion, is a very strong unit, this being shown through the points listed above and consequently explained below.
A constitution is the fundamental principles of government in a nation, either implied in its laws, institutions, and customs, or embodied in one fundamental document. The U.S. Constitution was completed on September 17, 1789 and has served as a model for the constitutions of many other nations. The constitution of the United States of America is the oldest written national constitution in use and consists of twenty-seven amendments.
A constitution is the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation is governed. Our founding fathers created the US Constitution to
The Differences Betweek the UK and US Constitutions The constitution of a state, at its most basic, can be described as the fundamental principles from which it is governed, usually defining how power is split up within it and thereby constructing a framework within which it operates (www.oed.com). In this essay, I will first provide a brief summary of the UK and US constitutions and then attempt to outline the key differences and similarities between the two and discuss whether the differences really do pale in comparison with the fundamental similarities. Queen Elizabeth the 2nd once said, “The British constitution has always puzzled me” (Hennessy, 1996) and this certainly becomes
The United Kingdom can easily change their laws than most countries, which can be beneficial to new situations. Furthermore, the British Constitution does not have a set stone and it illustrate to their residents on how as well as when political power is allocated, which allows politicians and attorneys to relied on the constitutional authorities to grasp a better understanding.
A written constitution is considered the highest form of law and is respected because of this. There is no such principle in the British constitution because sovereignty lies with Parliament.
Constitutions have been around for many years. The first ones on record go back as far as the fifteenth century. There are many uses for them, though often enough are used to outline laws and basic rights of the people under that government. Two very different, yet very alike constitutions are the Iroquois and the United States Constitutions. They have many differences, but just as many similarities.
Britain, to begin with, has no written constitution due to the country’s own constitutional structure’s stability. It remains uncodified, yet it’s legal sources stem from Acts of parliament, European Union law, equity and common law,. Therefore the varying powers of parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law will be considered against these sources.
‘The absence of a written constitution ... enables constitutional change to be brought about within the United Kingdom with the minimum of constitutional formality.’
A constitution is the foundation of any state’s authority to govern, it can be written, codified, or unwritten, uncodified. In a basic sense it lays the ground rules for any state including the various institutions, for example, the judiciary, the legislature and the executive. It importantly gives these institutions the power necessary to generate legislation, to then enforce it and to interpret the legislation. (Clark et al. 2013, p.706) The branches of government and their functions and powers are often set out in constitutions, in addition limitations on the branches of government are formalised. In the USA, where the constitution is written, a system of checks and balances are set out in the constitution to prevent any one branch from becoming all powerful or tyrannical. However, in the UK the constitution is unwritten and the emphasis is much less on a
A constitution is a set of rules which may be written or unwritten, establishes the distribution of power in a political system, the limits of government jurisdiction, the rights of citizens and the method of amending the constitution itself. An uncodified constitution is unwritten, or at least not written all in one document. The constitution in the UK is found in a variety of sources which are mainly statute and common law, conventions and traditions, European law etc. There are arguments for the UK to both retain an uncodified constitution and to change this to a codified constitution like the USA. Some of the arguments for retaining the uncodified system are that; codification produces
The British constitution is flexible in nature, which has allowed for the development of this country over centuries without the need for a fully codified constitution. I
The Arguments For and Against a Codified Constitution A constitution is a set of rules that seek to establish the duties, powers and functions of the various institutions of government, regulate the relationships between them, and define the relationship between the state and the individual. The most common way of classifying constitutions is to distinguish between codified and uncodified. The UK has an uncodified constitution.
The United Kingdom (UK) is one of the longest living monarchies in Europe and has the longest Parliament. In legislative terms, the UK is a non-federal state that is composed of three countries (England, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and one principality (Wales) (Slapper & Kelly, 2008). Surprisingly, UK is one of the few countries that do not have a written constitution: however, UK has a body of law that is of constitutional significance. Furthermore, UK law is also not codified, process