Explain the salient features of the British constitution.
1) Introduction
● A constitution means certain principles on which the government of the state organizes and determines the relations between the people and the government
● The constitutions of U.K is unique in nature and has provided inspiration to other all constitutions of the world
● The object of the constitutions is to provide justice and to take up against issues related to violation of rights
2) Definition of constitution
● A constitution is a set of fundamental principles according to which a state is governed
3) Salient features of u.k constitution
Following are the salient features of the U.K constitution
1. Unwritten
● The British constitution is unwritten in nature but it does not mean that all constitution is unwritten.
● It means that the constitution has not been written in a single document.
● Some of the components are in written form such as Parliament act of 1911 etc.
2. Evolutionary growth
● The British constitution is a result of an evolutionary growth. Conscious efforts as well as needs to time shaped its unintentional growth.
3. Flexible constitution
● The British constitution is a flexible constitution and the parliament can amend it by a simple majority by making alterations in the statutory law
4. Unitary
● Britain has a unitary constitution. All powers of the state are in the hands of a single government for the whole country. There are no states in Britain.
5. Bicameralism
● The parliament consists of two chambers, the House of Lords and house of commons.
● House of commons is a popular chamber whose members directly elected by the people
● While the house of lords is basically a hereditary chamber and its members are nominated by the Queen
6. Supremacy of the Parliament
● In the U.K Parliament has complete supremacy or sovereignty. Any enacted law by the parliament cannot be challenged in the court that it is against the constitution
⮚ According to DeLoeme
“British Parliament can do everything except to make a man into a woman”
7. Constitutional monarchy
● From the constitutional point of view, the crown is the foundation of the entire government
8. Contrast in theory and practice
● There is a sharp contrast between theory and practice. Theoretically British government is absolute monarchy but practically the government structure is closer to democratic form
9. Collective responsibility
● Ministers are collectively responsible for making law and they cannot make their decisions against government policy. Every minister is individually responsible to play his role positively
10. Limited separation of power
● In Britain, there is limited separation of powers. Cabinet which exercise the executive powers is the committee of the parliament and many acts has been provided in order to secure committee from undue influence from the two branches of the government
11. Independence of judiciary
● Necessary safeguards have been provided to judicial process from undue interference
● Judges are being paid high salaries and their jobs are totally secured
12. Rule of law
● The U.K constitution provides rule of law. The Principle of rule of law defines as none of the person is above or below the law. All persons are equal in the eye of law. If any person violates the law he should face the trial of the case in government and no person is given imprisonment until his offense in proved in the court
13. Fundamental rights
● Fundamental rights of the citizens have not been gathered in the form of a list in the English constitution. But fundamental rights have been recognized by the courts with the needs to time
14. Conventions
Conventions play a vital role in the Britain political system. A government can be established and removed on the basis of conventions in Britain.
15. Two party system
● Liberal party has lost its political significance now and now there are only parties Conservative party and second are labor party in Britain
16. Universal adult suffrage
● In Britain every individual of the age of 18 has the right to vote
17. Mixed constitution
● One of the best quality of the British constitution is that , the British constitution is a mixture of the monarchial and democratic principles
18. Conservativeness
● The British constitution is a symbol of conservativeness. The trend of the people of U.K is absolutely in favor of old institutions and this concept shows their conservativeness
19. Establishment of local government institutions
● The existence of local government institutions are symbols of the civil liberties and freedom the of the people of Britain
20. Unreality
● Another characteristic of the English constitutions is its unreality. It has been pointed out that nothing is in it. This is totally unreal constitution
4) Elements of English constitution
Following are the elements of the English constitution
1) Statutes of Parliament
2) The common law
3) Constitutional landmark
4) Conventions
5) Judicial decision
5) Conclusion
● U.K constitution is neither absolutely unwritten nor absolutely written it is the combination of the both
● It has varies from other exist laws in the world and is very flexible but strong
● It has different in nature from other constitutions because theoretically it seems a strong but practically it seems different in nature and very flexible
● On the other hand it has been globally recognized by all other constitutions