7/28/2019 A Constitution Ia a Set of Rules Which Define the Relationship Between the Various Organs of Governement and B

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A constitution ia a set of rules which define the relationship between the various organs of governement andbetween the government and citizens of a country.Its purpouse is to set the parameters of a governamentalpower and the rights and duties of the citizens.Therefore ,the cinstitution of any individual country willdetermine the system of government in that countryBefore we go on examine the nature of the British constitution it is important that you have a clearunderstanding of what is meant by the`organs` or "institution` of government.In this context we mean theexecutive, the legislature and the judiciary.In addition ,in the United Kingdom,,the monarch has an important

constitutional role as head of stateBecause the rules of a constitution are laws of fundamental importance ,it is not surprising that they areoften embodied in a single written document.Thus,for example ,the Constitution of the United States wasreducedto writing in 1787 and the document which comprises it( as subsenquently amended ) lays down thefundamental law of America today.Further the U.S. Constitution ,like many other written constitutions ,cannot be altered easly constitutional amendment can only be carried if a very substantial majority ,bouth inCongress and the individual States,approve it .Our constitution is just as important to us as the U.S.Constitution is to the Americans.Nevertheless,it is not"written ":that is to say,it has never been reduced to writing.Further ,since parliament is`sovereing` it can`twithout any special procedure ,and be simple Act,alther any law at anytime however fundamental it mayseem to be .Althought ,therefore our courts have always been astute ,to saveguard the rights of the subjectand althought certain legal remedies,such as habeas corpus are designed to protect him ,yet ,under ourconstitution,there are no guaranteed rights similar ti the fundamental liberties saveguarded by theU.S.ConstitutionThe statement that our constitution is not "written" does not mean that we possess no important

constitutional documents,it means that the constitution is not embodied in any single document ,or series ofdocuments,containing our essential constitutional laws.Thus we have many enactments which either havebeen or still are,of great importance..One need only cite as examples Magna Carta (1215),the Bill ofRights(1688)-which sets out the principal rights gained by Parliament and the nation as the result of theseventeenth century constitutional struggles-the Act of Settlement (1700),and the Parliament Acts 1911 and1949.

A number of issues in this relate to our earlier definition of constitution -the extent and control of governmentpower and the protection of the rights of the citizens.The first major source for the law of the constitution comes in the form of legislation.The Magna Carta,extracted from King John in 1215 under threat of civil war ,was the earliest attempt to limit the powers of themonarch and to define the extent of the rights and liberties his might hope to enjoy.The re-enactement ofthis Great Charter in 1297 constitues the first in a long series of statues dealing with ever-shifting functionsof the major organs of government and their relationship with one another.1297,Re-issue of the Magna Carta(1215)is a declaration of certain fundamental principles:no one shouldlose his life or liberty "except by the lawful judgement of his equals and by the law of the land":the king

should not sell,deny or delay justice;punishment should be in relation to the seriousness of the crime,etc.The Instrument of Government (1653) was a first attempt to draw up a written setting out the differentfunctions of the Lord Protector (Oliver Cromwel),or his Council of State and of Parliament,as well as varioussafeguards against the abuse of power,and specifying how often Parliament should be summoned and whomight be aligible to vote in election,etc.The Bill of Rights (1689) it declares that the monarch`s pretended power of suspecting or dispensing withlaws without the consent of parliament is illegal,that elections and debate in Parliament should be free,andthe Parliament should be summoned frenquently,etc.

Act of Union (1707)- this brought the abolition of the Scottish Parliament and united the governments ofEngland and Scotland.The Representation of the People Act (1867)is the second reform Act brought about a further ofparliamentary franchise and redistribution of seats.This resulted in an increase in the middle-class vote inthe contries,and the enfranchisement of the artisans in the towns.The Ballot Act (1872) was a vital pece of legislation,setting up the secret ballot at parliamentary electionsand there by doing away with the old system of voting in public which made voters so vulnerable to pressurefrom over-enthusianstic candidates.The Parliament Act (1911)down the reduced powers of the House Of Lords with regard to Money Bills inparticular-the maximum the House could delay such a bill was limited to 1 month and Public Bills ingeneral.It also shortened the life of Parliament from 7 to 5 years.The representation of the People Act (1928) removed the remaining discrimination againstwomen..Registration as a voter was henceforth on the basis of age (21 and over) ,and residence in theconstituency concerned (a minimum period of 3 month).The Representation of The People Act de 1969 lowered the voting age to 18.The European Communities Act (1985) contains provisions Concerning the voting rights of expatriate Britionand holidaymakers.

7/28/2019 A Constitution Ia a Set of Rules Which Define the Relationship Between the Various Organs of Governement and B

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Many constitutional rules ,such for example as the provision of the Act of Settlement...are laws in theordinary sense,that is to say,they will be recognized and enforced by the courts.but they are certain otherrules which govern the working of the constitution which are not laws in this sense .They are called"conventions". They arise from usage ,or agreement,tacit or express,and they are adhered to,once theyhave developed,not because the courts will enforce them,but because political expedience and respect fortradition demand their observance.Many of the rules which govern the functioning of the central government and the relationship of the

Executive to the Legislature are this conventional.By convention, a ministry which is defeated on a major issue in the House of Commons should either resignor advise the Queen to grant a dissolution.If it advises dissolution and is then defeated at the ensuinggeneral election it should ,by convention ,resing either at once or upon its first defeat in the House ofCommons.By convention of Parliament must be summoned at least once a year,though legally it need onlymeet once in three years;this convention is ,as we have seen ,grounded firmly upon political expedience;forparliament alone can grant the Government the funds it needs annually for the public administration.Finally,althought it is not usually treated in works on constitutional law as such,the fact that the courts treatthemselves as bound to apply Acts of Parliament is conventional,and so is the doctrine of judicial precedentitself.