The relevance of Constitutional Principles to the British Constitution

A constitution refers to a set of law that governs a country. Unlike in the United States where they use written constitution, the British constitution is unwritten. This constitution is known as an uncodified constitution. The British constitution is found in various documents, which makes it easier for changes to occur flexibly. Due to the lack of constitutional text for reference, the British constitution follows various principles and laws that guides the government’s operations. Parliamentary sovereignty is the most supreme principle of the U.K law. Therefore, the decision of the Queen in parliament becomes the final law, which is undisputable. This paper will analyze the relevance of the various constitutional principles to the British constitution.

Parliamentary Supremacy

The concept of Parliamentary supremacy was introduced by AV Dicey in 1885. This principle states that a peace of statutes made and passed by the parliament are the most supreme laws within the constitution. The court holds the authority to make and end any law. The judiciary cannot change the parliament's legislation. The British government believes that every Act of parliament is constitutional (King 7). The parliament has constitutional significance in that it can determine the length of the term. Normally, a term goes for five years but the parliament can decide either to increase or decrease with the consent of both Houses of the Lords and House of commons.  For example, the British parliament passed the Nigeria Independence Act of 1960 which declared Nigeria an independent nation within the Common Wealth.

Sources of Constitution

The British constitution is derived from different sources. These sources include common law, conventions, statutes law, the legislation and European Union, and the Work of Authority. Statutes are the most powerful laws which are made by the parliament. The statues cannot be changed by other bodies in the government. Common law is passed by the judiciary's decision in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not in Scotland because of its hybrid system (Foley 17). The most historical court's judgment is one passed in Hall vs. Campbell which ruled the constitutional limitations to all states with representatives in parliament. Conventions are unwritten practices that have developed over a period of time and are important n governing a nation. Conventions play a vital role in the making of the constitution. An example of an important convention is the Salisbury convention. This convention states that the National Assembly cannot oppose the second or third readings passed by the governments, with the aim of achieving their manifesto. The fourth source of the British Constitution is legislation and international treaties. European Union treaties greatly impacted the British Constitution. For instance, British law incorporated the European conventions of human rights through the 1988 Human Rights (King 12). Lastly, Works of Authorities are a common source of the British law which emerged as a result of lack a documented constitution. Hence, the British government depends on the interpretations of the constitution to know the elements of the constitution.

 

 

Rule of Law

There are many interpretations of rule of law. However, the UK recognizes and applies Dicey's version, which Dicey derived from Edward Coke's concept. Dicey supports the British unwritten constitution and claims it is beneficial to society. Dicey understand the rule of law in three principles. First, an individual should not be punished by the government, if he or she has not violated the British law. The authorities can only punish a person following the requirements of the law. Second, no individual is above the law in the society regardless of their gender, and social status. Finally, the bill of rights is no longer relevant as the principle of the constitution is made from the court's decisions, which are determined from the rights of a single individual. Dicey argues that the government should restraint the people because it does not hold extreme power over the citizens. Therefore, there should be boundaries on the government's operations, and none of the government's officials should be above the law (Goldsworthy 22). Dicey's concept of the rule of law is evident in Entick v Carrington, where the court opposes the warrants of entry and search given by a home secretary.

Unity and Devolution

Britain is composed of four nations: England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Nevertheless, the UK is a unitary state, but its parliament does not hold an equal number of representatives from each state, thus making the state neither a federation nor a confederation. All British Nation have their own parliaments, except for England. Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland’s parliaments derives their laws from statutes. Statutes passed by the parliament cannot be disputed or ignored. In addition, there must be a referendum in the country if the British parliament has intentions of dissolving the Scottish government and parliament (Turpin et al 21). For example, the principle of unity and devolution enabled Scotland to hold a referendum which enabled the citizens to decide whether they wanted to be an independent state or be part of the U.K. Hence, the British Legislature cannot pass a bill to eliminate the Britain nation’s parliaments.

Constitutional Conventions

A Convention refers to an unofficial and unwritten constitution which governs a state. The British government follows various conventions. An example of convention is where a monarch, queen or king, shall approve all motions passed by the devolved legislature. A second example is where the king or queen has the power to appoint the leader of the majority in the House of Commons to run the government. Third, the requirements that the House of the Lords or House of Commons must produce minister is a convention (Prosser 18). However, it is not necessary to follow all the constitutional conventions. For example, Queen Anne's refusal to approve the Scottish Militia Bill of 1708 was influenced by ministers.

European Union

Although the U.K does not agree with European community Justice’s monist interpretation, U.K recognizes the sovereignty European Union law (Turpin et al 19). In U.K, international law is applied separately, and is applicable based on an act of legislature.  The British constitution borrowed some of its laws from the European Union laws through the treaties that were signed.

Parliamentary sovereignty is the most important principle of the British constitution as the court cannot reject or ignore its legislatures. The parliaments possess the power to make and end laws. The parliaments cannot make laws which may pose problems to the future parliaments. The parliaments also has the power to extend the terms without disputes from others bodies of the government.

Conclusion

The British constitution is unwritten and follows different principles. These principles include Parliamentary supremacy, important conventions, constitutional sources, unity and devolution, and finally, the rule of law. Parliamentary supremacy is the most important principle as it has the power to make or end laws, and its decisions cannot be disputed by the judiciary. These principles help in solving the problems that come with the unwritten constitution. The principles keep Britain in order as it is clearly known that no person, regardless of their social status is above the law. Also, constitutional conventions give guidelines t political leaders on how they should perform their political duties thus making the British government's work easier.

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Works Cited

Foley, Michael. The politics of the British constitution. Manchester University Press, 1999.

Goldsworthy, Jeffrey Denys, The Sovereignty of Parliament: History and Philosophy,

Oxford University Press, 1999

King, Anthony. The British Constitution. Oxford University Press, USA, 2007.

Prosser, Tony. "Understanding the British constitution." Political Studies 44.3 (1996): 473-487.

Turpin, Colin, Tomkins, Adam, British Government, and the Constitution: Text and Materials,

            Cambridge University Press, 2007