TD Droit Anglais: the census of population

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Codified constitution : b,d,f,e

Uncodified constitution : a,c,g,h

PART II - Sources of the British constitution

There are FIVE main sources of the British Constitution and most of them are written down.

* What is a statutory law ?

- A statutory law is law created by parliament

- Has to be approved by Both Chambers ( House of Common and House of - Lords ) and by the Monarc

- Implemented by the executive

- Enforced by the judiciary ( the Courts )

- Not all acts have constitutional significance

* What is a common law ?

- Developed and applied by the UK Courts

- The courts interpret and clarify the law

- Common law is thus legal precedent made by judges

- Precedent can change the law, but may be overruled10 by a superior court, or changed by legislation.

- The common law also includes the royal prerogatives (the powers exercised in the name of the Crown)

First, it is composed of CASE LAW = legal precedent made by Judges ( legal principles developped and applied by uk courts ) when there are no clear statute law. Precedent can change the law and may be overruled by a higher court.

It has binding force.

Royal prerogatives ( power exercised in the name of the CROWN ) = the soource of RP is not common law but it is commonlaw that decides what rp are and how far they extend ;

The Monarch can:

- declare war and negociate treaties

- appoint ministers

- give royal assent ( consentement ) to legislation

The Monarch cannot dissolve parliament ( Fixed-term Parliaments Act, 2011 ).

What is Conventions ?

- Conventions are rules/norms that are considered to be binding ( qui constituent une obligation )

- They aren’t written down or enforced by Courts.

Ex : - The Salisbury Convention.

What are authoritative Works ?

- They are legal and political texts of outmost importance which are considered as guides to the institutions/constitution

- They have no binding force

European Union Law

- Since 1973, all European treaties and legislation as well as judgements of the European Court of Justice are immediatly integrated in the British Constitution

It is not the case anymore ( since article 50 was triggred ) but we don’t know yet on wha tterms the EU and the UK new relations will be set.

- As opposed to France, in the UK, they are directly integrated in the constitution, as Statute law or common law ( European Court of Justice )

The United Kingdom does not have a written constitution in the form of a single document that encodifies all the fundamental rules, principles and practices regarding the way in which the country is governt , as well as the rights and duties of its citizens.

So, what makes up the UK’s uncodified constitution is a wide range of …................. document that encodifies all the fundamental rules, sources which can be divided as follows.

1) statutory of law is comprised of various written Acts of Parliament, i.e. legislation laid down by Parliament and enforced by courts.

2) Common law is established by custom and judicial precedent . Thus, a judicial decision that has been reached during one particular case will then serve as an authority to future similar cases. Part of this judge-made law are the royal prerogative which are the rights of the monarch.

3) Conventions are also laid down by precedent and to a lesser extent by constitutional texts. They are traditional practices that are so long established and so universal that they have acquired the force of law . However, conventions and customs are not laws, so in theory they have no legal value. They are only enforced by expectations and convenience.

4) The United Kingdom joined the EEC in 1973, now the European Union. The European Communities Act, 1972, stipulates that European law takes precedence over all domestic sources of law. So the UK has to abide by European legal texts.

5) Because framing the constitution from all the sources above is a complex procedure, various textbooks are considered guides to what the constitution is. Such authoritative works include authors such as Bagehot, Dicey and Erskine