Public Law Definition
“That part of the law deals with the constitution and functions of the organs of central and local
governments, the relationship between individuals and the state, and the relationships between
individuals that are of direct concern to the state”
Private Law Definition
“That part of the law that deals with such aspects of relationships between individuals that are of
no direct concern to the state.”
The Constitution
Wider Sense
- The whole system of government and rules by which a country is run
Narrow Sense
L
- Single written document
UK Constitution
GD
- Constitutional Fundamentals and Sources of UK Constitutional Law
- Core constitutional principles
- Separation of Powers
- Rule of Law
- Parliament
- The Supremacy (Or Sovereignty of Parliament)
Sources of UK Constitution
1) Statue
a) Legislation of Constitutional significance
ce
i) Eg Magna Carta, Bill of Rights 1689, Human Rights Act 1998
2) Case Law
a) Decisions of the courts establishing precedent
i) On individual rights
b) Case law is flexible
3) Conventions
a) Non-legal rules of constitutional behavior considered binding
A
4) Royal Prerogative
a) Residue of absolute powers exercised by Monarch and no removed by
parliament
Written Constitution
- Set out in a single document
- Will contain the fundamental laws of the constitution and defines the powers of different
branches
- May also contain the Bill of rights setting out fundamental civil liberties to be enjoyed by
citizens of the state
,Unwritten Constitution
- Constitution will not be set out in a single authoritative document
- Made up of a number different sources such as a statute and case law
Republican Constitution
- Democratically- elected president as head of state
Monarchical Constitution
- Unelected monarch as head of state
Federal Constitution
- A unitary constitution will have a single sovereign legislative body, with power being
concentrated at the center
L
Rigid Constitution
- The constitution can only be changed following a special procedure
GD
- Most states with written constitution tends to be rigid
Flexible Constitution
- Comparatively easy to change because no special procedures are necessary for the
constitution to be amended
Formal separation of power
- Has a clear separation both of functions and personnel between the executive (ie the
government), the legislative (ie the parliament) and the judicial (ie the courts) branches
of the state
ce
Informal separation of power
- Likely to have a significant degree of overlap in terms of functions and personnel
between the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches of state
Core Principles of the UK Constitution
1) The Rule of Law
A
2) Separation of powers
3) The Supremacy of Parliament
Rule of Law
- There should be no arbitrary exercise of power by the state or government
- Laws should be made properly, following a set of procedure
- Laws should be clear
- Laws should be certain
- There should be equality before the law
- The judiciary should be independent and impartial
,The Separation of Power
- To prevent arbitrary or oppressive government, the different branches of state have to be
kept separate in terms of their functions and personnel
1) The Legislative (or parliament) - the body that makes the law
2) The Executive (or government) - the body that implements the law
3) The Judiciary (or courts) - the body that resolves disputes about the law
Persons/Bodies that make up these branches
1) Executive Branch
The Queen, the King, the Prime Minister, the Civil Service, the police, the armed forces and
other government ministers
2) Legislative Branch
L
The Queen, the House of Lords, the House of Commons
3) Judiciary Branch
1) Acts of Parliament
2) Case Law
3) The Royal Prerogative
GD
The Queen, all legally qualified judges and magistrates
Four Principal Sources of the UK Constitution
4) Constitutional Conventions
Arts of Parliaments of Constitutional Importance
★ Magna Carta 1995
ce
➢ The first assertion of the limits on the powers of the monarch and the rights of the
individuals
➢ Embodies the principle that government must be conducted according to the law
and with the consent of the governed
➢ No man is above the law
➢ Introduced the right to protection from unlawful imprisonment
A
★ Bill of Rights 1689
➢ Imposed limitations between the crown’s power and its relationship with the
parliament
➢ Removed the power of the monarch arbitrarily to suspend acts of Parliament and
the power of the Monarch to impose taxation
➢ Provided the Parliament should meet on regular basis
➢ Elections free from the Monarch
➢ Freedom of speech and debates in Parliament ought not to be impeached or
questions in any courts or place out of Parliament
, ★ Act of Settlement 1701
➢ Altered the rule of succession
➢ Established constitutional independence of the judiciary
○ Providing security of tenure for senior judges
★ Acts of Union 1706-07
➢ United England and Scotland under a single Parliament of GB
➢ Contain provisions to preserve the separate Scottish church and legal system
★ Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949
➢ Altered the relationship between the House of Lords and Commons
➢ Ensure the will of the HOCs would prevail over that of the unelected HOLS
L
★ Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984
➢ Relevant to civil liberties
➢ Provides police extensive powers of arrest, search and detention
GD
➢ Contains safeguards to ensure the police do not abuse their powers
★ Public Order Act 1986
➢ Relevant to civil liberties
➢ Allows limitations to be placed on the rights of citizens to hold marches and
meetings in public places
★ Human Rights Act 1998
➢ Incorporates the European Convention of Human Rights into our domestic law
➢ Fundamental change in the protection of human rights by allowing citizens to
ce
raise alleged breaches of their human rights before domestic courts
★ Acts of devolution (eg Scotland Act 1998)
➢ Created a devolved system of government in various parts of the UK
★ Constitutional Reform 2005
➢ Provided for the creation of a Supreme Court and create a new body to see
A
appointment of judges
➢ Permitting the HOLs to elect their own speaker
★ European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020
➢ Provided for the UK’s departure from the EU
Each Act may be repealed by an ordinary Act of the Parliament
Case Law
⍟ The Common Law
⤷ Important source of some key principles of our constitution
“That part of the law deals with the constitution and functions of the organs of central and local
governments, the relationship between individuals and the state, and the relationships between
individuals that are of direct concern to the state”
Private Law Definition
“That part of the law that deals with such aspects of relationships between individuals that are of
no direct concern to the state.”
The Constitution
Wider Sense
- The whole system of government and rules by which a country is run
Narrow Sense
L
- Single written document
UK Constitution
GD
- Constitutional Fundamentals and Sources of UK Constitutional Law
- Core constitutional principles
- Separation of Powers
- Rule of Law
- Parliament
- The Supremacy (Or Sovereignty of Parliament)
Sources of UK Constitution
1) Statue
a) Legislation of Constitutional significance
ce
i) Eg Magna Carta, Bill of Rights 1689, Human Rights Act 1998
2) Case Law
a) Decisions of the courts establishing precedent
i) On individual rights
b) Case law is flexible
3) Conventions
a) Non-legal rules of constitutional behavior considered binding
A
4) Royal Prerogative
a) Residue of absolute powers exercised by Monarch and no removed by
parliament
Written Constitution
- Set out in a single document
- Will contain the fundamental laws of the constitution and defines the powers of different
branches
- May also contain the Bill of rights setting out fundamental civil liberties to be enjoyed by
citizens of the state
,Unwritten Constitution
- Constitution will not be set out in a single authoritative document
- Made up of a number different sources such as a statute and case law
Republican Constitution
- Democratically- elected president as head of state
Monarchical Constitution
- Unelected monarch as head of state
Federal Constitution
- A unitary constitution will have a single sovereign legislative body, with power being
concentrated at the center
L
Rigid Constitution
- The constitution can only be changed following a special procedure
GD
- Most states with written constitution tends to be rigid
Flexible Constitution
- Comparatively easy to change because no special procedures are necessary for the
constitution to be amended
Formal separation of power
- Has a clear separation both of functions and personnel between the executive (ie the
government), the legislative (ie the parliament) and the judicial (ie the courts) branches
of the state
ce
Informal separation of power
- Likely to have a significant degree of overlap in terms of functions and personnel
between the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches of state
Core Principles of the UK Constitution
1) The Rule of Law
A
2) Separation of powers
3) The Supremacy of Parliament
Rule of Law
- There should be no arbitrary exercise of power by the state or government
- Laws should be made properly, following a set of procedure
- Laws should be clear
- Laws should be certain
- There should be equality before the law
- The judiciary should be independent and impartial
,The Separation of Power
- To prevent arbitrary or oppressive government, the different branches of state have to be
kept separate in terms of their functions and personnel
1) The Legislative (or parliament) - the body that makes the law
2) The Executive (or government) - the body that implements the law
3) The Judiciary (or courts) - the body that resolves disputes about the law
Persons/Bodies that make up these branches
1) Executive Branch
The Queen, the King, the Prime Minister, the Civil Service, the police, the armed forces and
other government ministers
2) Legislative Branch
L
The Queen, the House of Lords, the House of Commons
3) Judiciary Branch
1) Acts of Parliament
2) Case Law
3) The Royal Prerogative
GD
The Queen, all legally qualified judges and magistrates
Four Principal Sources of the UK Constitution
4) Constitutional Conventions
Arts of Parliaments of Constitutional Importance
★ Magna Carta 1995
ce
➢ The first assertion of the limits on the powers of the monarch and the rights of the
individuals
➢ Embodies the principle that government must be conducted according to the law
and with the consent of the governed
➢ No man is above the law
➢ Introduced the right to protection from unlawful imprisonment
A
★ Bill of Rights 1689
➢ Imposed limitations between the crown’s power and its relationship with the
parliament
➢ Removed the power of the monarch arbitrarily to suspend acts of Parliament and
the power of the Monarch to impose taxation
➢ Provided the Parliament should meet on regular basis
➢ Elections free from the Monarch
➢ Freedom of speech and debates in Parliament ought not to be impeached or
questions in any courts or place out of Parliament
, ★ Act of Settlement 1701
➢ Altered the rule of succession
➢ Established constitutional independence of the judiciary
○ Providing security of tenure for senior judges
★ Acts of Union 1706-07
➢ United England and Scotland under a single Parliament of GB
➢ Contain provisions to preserve the separate Scottish church and legal system
★ Parliament Acts 1911 & 1949
➢ Altered the relationship between the House of Lords and Commons
➢ Ensure the will of the HOCs would prevail over that of the unelected HOLS
L
★ Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984
➢ Relevant to civil liberties
➢ Provides police extensive powers of arrest, search and detention
GD
➢ Contains safeguards to ensure the police do not abuse their powers
★ Public Order Act 1986
➢ Relevant to civil liberties
➢ Allows limitations to be placed on the rights of citizens to hold marches and
meetings in public places
★ Human Rights Act 1998
➢ Incorporates the European Convention of Human Rights into our domestic law
➢ Fundamental change in the protection of human rights by allowing citizens to
ce
raise alleged breaches of their human rights before domestic courts
★ Acts of devolution (eg Scotland Act 1998)
➢ Created a devolved system of government in various parts of the UK
★ Constitutional Reform 2005
➢ Provided for the creation of a Supreme Court and create a new body to see
A
appointment of judges
➢ Permitting the HOLs to elect their own speaker
★ European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020
➢ Provided for the UK’s departure from the EU
Each Act may be repealed by an ordinary Act of the Parliament
Case Law
⍟ The Common Law
⤷ Important source of some key principles of our constitution
