What is a constitution 7

(1) Regulates the relationship between states and individuals

(2) Determines the structure of the state (federal/ unitary/ regional)

(3) Sets up a framework of government (parliamentary system, bicameral, constitutional

monarchy)

Narrow meaning:

Document having a special legal sanctity and has an overriding legal force.

W ider meaning:

Collection of laws, institutions and customs; the whole system of government of a country,

the collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern the government.

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 Nature Of British Constitution
► Britain is unusual in that it has an 'unwritten' constitution: unlike the great majority

of countries there is no single legal document which sets out in one place the

fundamental laws outlining how the state works.

Why Britain don't have written constitution

► Britain's lack of a 'written' constitution can be explained by its history. In other

countries, many of whom have experienced revolution or regime change, it has been

necessary to start from scratch or begin from first principles, constructing new state

institutions and defining in detail their relations with each other and their citizens.

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► By contrast, the British Constitution has evolved over a long period of time,

reflecting the relative stability of the British polity. It has never been thought

necessary to consolidate the basic building blocks of this order in Britain.

► What Britain has instead is an accumulation of various statutes, conventions,

judicial deci:sions and treaties which collectively can be referred to as the British

Constitution.

► It is thus more accurate to refer to Britain's constitution as an Uncodified

constitution, rather than an 'unwritten' one.

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 Sources of the British Constitution
1.The Historic Constitutional Documents 3. Judicial Decision
✓ The Magna Carta
4. The British Common Law
✓ The Petition of Rights

✓ The Bill of Rights 5. Conventions

✓ The Reform Acts of 1832,1867,1884,1918

✓ Indian independence Act of 1947

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 The Historic Constitutional Documents
The historic constitutional documents form a very important source of the British
constitution. Some of these documents are the following:
The Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is a Latin phrase which means, "The Great Charter of the Liberties". It was
signed by King John in 1215. Through Magna Carta the King recognized the rights of
his subjects to justice and property. It was also agreed upon that the King must govern
according to law and not according to his will.
The Petition of Rights

The Petition of Rights was signed in reign of King Charles-I in 1628. Through this Petition it

was decided that the King would not impose any tax without the consent of the parliament.

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The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights of 1689 came in to existence after a long tussle between
Roman Catholicism, the faith of the British Monarch and the British public in the
reign of King James-II. The terms of the Bill of Rights shifted the balance of power
from the King to the Parliament. The Bill contained the following important
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prov1s1ons
a) Suspending of executing law by the Crown without the consent of the
Parliament was declared null and void
b) Levying taxes by the Crown without the consent of the Parliament was
declared illegal
c) Recruiting or keeping army by the Crown without the consent of the
Parliament was declared null illegal
d) Freedom of speech in the Parliament was not to be questioned in any court
e) No unreasonable or unusual fine or punishment had to be inflicted
f) Trails had to be through jury. I)
The Act of Settlement (1700)
The Act of Settlement bared succession to the throne to Roman Catholic
and provided for the succession of the throne to Protestants.
The Act provided for the security of tenure for the judiciary by taking away the
right of the King to dismiss the judiciary at will.

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 The Acts of Parliament
The laws made by the parliament from time to time have also contributed to the

constitutional developments and thus considered one of the most important sources the

British Constitution. Few of them are mentioned in the following lines:

The Act of Habeas Corpus (1679)

The Act of Habeas Corpus stipulated that person who is imprisoned without

legal justification must be presented to a court of law.

The Act of Settlement (1701)

The Act of Settlement provided that the King must be of Protestant faith.

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The Reform Acts of 1832,1867,1884,1918

The various reform Acts granted to the public the right of vote and representation in the

parliament.

The Parliament Act (1911, 1949)

The Parliament Act deals with the powers of the House of Lords.

Indian independence Act of 1947

Through this Act Pakistan and India were granted independence.

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 Judicial Decisions
► Another source of the British Constitution is those judicial decisions of the British higher

courts which explain and interpret the rules and statutes passed by the parliament.

► The courts interpret statutes, agreements and the rules of Common law whenever

disputes are referred to them.

► According to the celebrated English jurist, Dicey the British constitution is a

judge-made constitution.

► Most of the rights of the British public are the result of litigation in the British higher

courts. For example, the right to personal liberty, the right to freedom of speech, the right
to public meeting etc.is the outcome of the decisions of the British higher judiciary

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 The British Common Law
► The British Common Law is also an important source of the constitution as a

substantial part of the British Constitution is based on the Common-law.

► Many constitutional rules have their origin in the common law for instance the concept

of the rule of law is the product of the common law.

► Many basic rights of the people e.g. jury trial, freedom of speech and

assembly are based on Common Law of the United Kingdom as practiced by various

courts in the country.

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 Convenitions

► Conventions are the political traditions or practices prevalent in the United

Kingdom for centuries.

► Constitutional conventions of the British Constitution are not law in the strict sense

of the term as they cannot be enforce by courts.

► For example, under the British Constitution, it is well-established convention the

Queen would dissolve the House of Commons if she is advised by the Prime

Minister, however, if she refuses to do so no court can compel her dissolve the House

of Commons.

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 The Royal Prerogatives
Royal prerogatives are powers exercised by the Monarch. These powers
are now exercised by the government. However, they are still considered to be
royal powers which remain with the Monarch.
Following are few examples of Royal Prerogatives:
a) Power to declare war
b) Power to declare peace
c) Power to become part of treaties
d) Power to pardon offenders
e) Power appoint ministers
f) Power to summon Parliament.
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 Commentaries of Jurists
► Eminent British jurists have written comprehensive commentaries on the constitution law

of the United Kingdom. Those commentaries are also treated as one of the sources of the

British constitution.

► Such as Arson's " Law and Customs of the Constitution", May's " Parliamentary

Practice" anticay's " Law of Constitution" are few examples of the commentaries of the

eminent British jurists