Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• What is a constitution?
•
“an assemblage of laws, institutions and customs
which combine to create a system of government to
which the community agrees.”
• What is the status of a constitution?
• Note Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• Six main sources combine to create the UK
constitution
• (1) Legislation – note the lack of a specific
‘constitutional’ status or parliamentary procedure.
• How do you identify a ‘constitutional’ Act?
• Examples : Parliament Acts 1911-49, House of Lords
Act 1999.
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• (2) The Common Law
• Note the importance of Judicial decisions as a source
of constitutional law
• Examples : Entick v. Carrington (1765), C.C.S.U. v.
Minister for the Civil Service [1985] AC 374.
• Does this mean judges are making law?
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• (3) The Laws and Customs of Parliament
• The concept of parliamentary privilege – Article 9 Bill
of Rights 1689
• The ‘Salisbury Doctrine’
• The Role of the Monarch in Parliament
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• 4. Academic Writings
• Note the work of Albert Venn Dicey : Introduction to
the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885)
• Also the work of Blackstone and Geoffrey Marshall.
• Note how influential these writers have been.
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• 5. Constitutional Conventions
• “rules of constitutional behaviour considered to be
binding by and upon those who operate the
constitution.”
• What are the characteristics of conventions?
• A/G v. Jonathan Cape Ltd. [1976] QB 752
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• 6. The European Union
• Note the limits of this as a source and its temporary
nature
• Examples of EU law as constitutional law.
• Are the EU Treaties a written constitution for the UK?
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• Nature of the Constitution
• The UK Constitution has several important
characteristics
• Is the UK Constitution ‘unwritten’ or merely
uncodified?
• Does this matter?
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• The Constitution is FLEXIBLE
• Examples of this – Devolution, dilution of doctrine of
ministerial responsibility.
• Consequences of flexibility?
• Is the Constitution ‘too flexible?’
Sources and Nature of the
Constitution
• The Constitution is a Parliamentary Democracy.
• The UK is a Constitutional Monarchy
• Note The Monarch’s Role in Parliament
• IS the UK constitution ‘unitary’ or ‘federal’?