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Magna Carta 1215

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Last updated

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Date created

Mar 1, 2020

Cards (29)

Section 1

(29 cards)

Magna Carta 1215

Front

- gov must operate within the law --> limited gov - law applies equally to all citizens

Back

Devolution in England

Front

- no devolution to regions - 2004 referendum for regional devolution powers --> rejected by 77% - Blair gov 2000 powers devolved to London mayor and assembly giving them oversight of policy areas e.g. policing, transport and economic development

Back

Statute Law (most important)

Front

- Law passed by Parliament e.g. Human rights Act 1998 and Parliament Acts 1911, 1949 - significant because they affect the powers and responsibilities of government bodies and the rights and freedoms of citizens

Back

Devolution in Northern Ireland

Front

- 1998 good Friday agreement - NI assembly elected by STV --> power-sharing government

Back

Authoritative work

Front

- writings which clarify to meanings of the consitution - texts don't have legal authority therefore they are only consulted if they are considered to be relevant.

Back

Sovereignty

Front

- ultimate power - "parliamentary sovereignty" --> legal sovereignty to make, amend or repeal any law This is based on 4 conditions: - The absence of a higher law - Supremacy of state law over other forms of law - Acts of Parliament (statute law) outranks common law, case law... - Absence of rival legislatures - no other bodies can make law independently - No Parliament can bind its successors - Parliament cannot make laws that cannot be unmade

Back

treaties

Front

Formal agreements with other countries, usually ratified by Parliament. e.g. Treaty on European Union 1993 which introduced political union in the form of the EU

Back

Devolution in Scotland

Front

- Scottish parliament elected using AMS - Nicola Sturgeon SNP majority putting pressure on parliament for independence referendum and more devolution - Scotland Act 1998 gave Scottish Parliament primary legislative powers in range of policy areas and tax-varying powers - Scotland Act 2016- devolved control of income tax rates

Back

Bill of Rights 1689

Front

- sovereignty of parliament over the king (legislation)

Back

European Communities Act 1972

Front

- Uk joins the EU

Back

Sources of the UK constitution

Front

- Statute law - Common law - Conventions - Works of constitutional authority - European law and treaties

Back

Devolution in Wales

Front

- Welsh assembly elected using AMS - have not gained powers over income tax and borrowing - since 2011 referendum, assembly can pass laws without uk permission

Back

Constitutional reform under labour (1997-2010) HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998

Front

- European convection on human rights into UK statute law

Back

Constitutional reform under coalition and conservative (2010-2015) RECALL OF MPs ACT 2015

Front

- constituents power to trigger a by-election if their MP is suspended from Commons for more than 21 days of faces a custodial sentence.

Back

what is a consitution

Front

- set of rules - establishes the distribution of power and relationships between institutions - limits gov power - protects human rights

Back

Conventions

Front

- unwritten rules which are binding on politicians - Lack clarity and can be ambiguous E.g. Salisbury convention, collective cabinet responsivbility

Back

Act of Union 1707

Front

- dissolved the scottish parliament

Back

Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949

Front

- limited the power to delay legislation for one year --> ensures the supremacy of the elected HOC - eliminated financial powers

Back

Nature of Constitution

Front

- Uncodified - unentrenched - unitary

Back

reasons for constitutional reform

Front

- political system needed to be more democratic - system was too centralised - citizens rights were inadequately protected

Back

Common Law

Front

- rules passed through court rulings - 'judge-made' law --> (precedent --> laws created and refined by the courts) Constitutional rules based on common law include: - Royal prerogative - formal powers of the Crown and some of the powers of the PM and the executive branch of government Traditional rights and freedoms -Human Rights Act 1998

Back

Constitutional reform under coalition and conservative (2010-2015) WALES ACT 2011 SCOTLAND ACT 2012

Front

- welsh assembly receiving direct law powers without consulting west minister - granted power to set income tax rates

Back

Constitutional reform under labour (1997-2010) HOUSE OF LORDS ACT 1999

Front

- removed Hereditary peers in HOL (apart from 92 and thy dominated the HOL) - majority members now are archbishops and life peers (appointed on the grounds of merit, reflecting a wide variety of fields)

Back

Constitutional reform under labour (1997-2010) DEVOLUTION 1997 - 98

Front

Devolution - transfer of extensive power away from Westminster to goverments and elected assemblies in S, W, NI - new electoral systems introduced e.g. AMS in S and W, STV in NI

Back

Constitutional reform under coalition and conservative (2010-2015) FIXED-TERM PARLIAMENT ACT 2011

Front

- general elections take place every 5 years - approved y two-thirds majority in HOC for early election and vote of no confidence.

Back

Uncodified constitution

Front

- Not authoritative i.e. single-tier legal system with no 'higher law' - Not entrenched i.e. can be amended with the same procedure as statute law - the principle of parliamentary sovereignty -Not judiciable i.e. judges cannot deem the actions of other bodies to be 'constitutional' or 'unconstitutional' because there is no 'higher law'

Back

nature of devolution

Front

- transfer of power not sovereignty independent control over tax raised - each have an elected assembly, executive or gov - elections is forms of proportional representation - devolution has been entrenched by referendums

Back

Unitary constitution

Front

- A constitution that concentrates sovereign power in a single body of national government. - Central government has supremacy over local government - Sovereignty of national legislature - Can create or abolish, strengthen or weaken other institutions - Parliament possesses legislative authority

Back

Constitutional reform under labour (1997-2010) CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM ACT 2005

Front

- creation of the supreme court - highest court of appeal for civil cases - guaranteed the independence of the judiciary - separation of power --> law-making a judicial are independent of each other (different branches)

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