UK Constitution Sources PDF

PUBLIC LAW I – SOURCES OF POWER Sources of the UK Constitution Dr Tarik Olcay University of Dundee Week 2  LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe the different sources of the UK Constitution Explain the relationship between the different sources o...

PUBLIC LAW I – SOURCES OF POWER Sources of the UK Constitution Dr Tarik Olcay University of Dundee Week 2  LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe the different sources of the UK Constitution Explain the relationship between the different sources of the UK Constitution  SOURCES OF THE UK CONSTITUTION Source: where we find the rules and principles of a constitution Codified constitutions:  SOURCES OF THE UK CONSTITUTION Where do we find the rules and principles of the UK Constitution? Legislation (Acts of Parliament) Constitutional conventions Judge-made law International law  LEGISLATION Many rules of the constitution found in legislation Not always straightforward to distinguish – uncodified Identification  does the content of the statute concern constitutional matters? organising and allocating powers to institutions of government OR e.g. Scotland Act 1998 (devolution), Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (separation of powers) OR regulating relationship between the individual and the state e.g. Magna Carta 1215, Bill of Rights 1689,  LEGISLATION Although constitutional in nature, these pieces of legislation have the same value as any other legislation “neither the Act of Union with Scotland nor the Dentists Act 1878 has more claim than the other to be considered a supreme law” – AV Dicey Laws LJ: a hierarchy between ‘ordinary’ vs ‘constitutional’ statutes Normally, when two laws conflict with each other, the more recent one will prevail, even if the later Act does not expressly repeal the previous one – this is called ‘implied repeal’ Laws LJ argued ‘implied repeal’ should not apply to ‘constitutional statutes’ – Thoburn v Sunderland City Council EWHC 195 (Admin) This idea received some support from the UK Supreme Court Even if ‘constitutional R (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport UKSC 3 statutes’ accepted  only means they are harder to R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union UKSC 5 amend but not much harder as it would only require another ordinary law  JUDGE-MADE LAW Judicial interpretation Judges cannot strike down laws, but interpret laws in a way that changes their meaning Common law Judges making new law Good administration principles – developed through judicial review of government action Procedurally fair, reasonable, rational Common law constitutional principles e.g. the rule of law Not truly binding as can be overridden by statute  INTERNATIONAL LAW Usually, international treaties are given effect in domestic law through enactment of legislation When this is not the case, domestic law should be interpreted, where possible, to conform with treaties