Sources of the UK Constitution:
Legal Sources – Legislation:
� Includes Acts of Parliament, delegated legislations and automatic legislation from European
Union
� How to identify constitutional acts from non constitutional acts?
� Examples of important constitutional acts are:
◦ The Magna Carta 1215
◦ The Petition of Rights 1628
◦ The Bill of Rights 1689
◦ Acts of Settlement 1700
◦ Treaty of Union 1706
◦ ECA 1972
◦ Devolutions acts of 1998
◦ HRA1998
◦ CRA 2005
Magna Carta:
� Nullus liber homo capiatur, vel imprisonetur, aut disseisiatur, aut utlagetur, aut exuletur, aut
aliquo modo destruatur, nec super cum ibimus, nec super cum mittemus, nisi per legale
judicium parium suorum vel per legem terre.
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or
exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or
send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land
Human Rights Act 1998:
� Gives effect to the ECHR
◦ Art 2: Right to life
◦ Art 3: Prohibition of torture
◦ Art 4: Prohibition of servitude
◦ Art 5: Right to liberty & security
◦ Art 6: Right to fair trial
◦ Art 7: Prohibition of retrospectivity
◦ Art 8: Right to privacy
◦ Art 9: Right to conscience & security
Legal Sources – Legislation:
� Includes Acts of Parliament, delegated legislations and automatic legislation from European
Union
� How to identify constitutional acts from non constitutional acts?
� Examples of important constitutional acts are:
◦ The Magna Carta 1215
◦ The Petition of Rights 1628
◦ The Bill of Rights 1689
◦ Acts of Settlement 1700
◦ Treaty of Union 1706
◦ ECA 1972
◦ Devolutions acts of 1998
◦ HRA1998
◦ CRA 2005
Magna Carta:
� Nullus liber homo capiatur, vel imprisonetur, aut disseisiatur, aut utlagetur, aut exuletur, aut
aliquo modo destruatur, nec super cum ibimus, nec super cum mittemus, nisi per legale
judicium parium suorum vel per legem terre.
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or
exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or
send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land
Human Rights Act 1998:
� Gives effect to the ECHR
◦ Art 2: Right to life
◦ Art 3: Prohibition of torture
◦ Art 4: Prohibition of servitude
◦ Art 5: Right to liberty & security
◦ Art 6: Right to fair trial
◦ Art 7: Prohibition of retrospectivity
◦ Art 8: Right to privacy
◦ Art 9: Right to conscience & security
