UK Constitution

The United Kingdom’s constitutional evolution spans over ten centuries. It lacks a single written constitutional document and is instead composed of both written and unwritten sources.

There is a common expectation that a constitution should be contained in a single document adopted by the people or an equivalent assembly. However, in a broader sense, a constitution defines the rules by which government and law function. Constitutional rules establish the limits within which legislative power is exercised, and laws are made. These rules define the entire system of government, encompassing the government, courts, and other authorities.

In this broader sense, the constitution appraises the entire system of rules that regulate and govern the government and limits the exercise of power. It also defines the legality of powers exercised.

The United Kingdom has undergone significant constitutional reforms in the last 20 years. The 1997 Labour government introduced significant changes, including devolution in Scotland and Wales, the reintroduction of devolution in Northern Ireland, and the incorporation of fundamental freedoms from the European Convention on Human Rights into English Law through the Human Rights Act.

The Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 reorganized and renamed some of the key elements of the state.

Magna Carta is often cited as a starting point for the sources of the British Constitution. Magna Carta, or the Great Charter, was a settlement of grievances between the Crown and noblemen who challenged the king’s unrestricted authority.

The Charter provided for freedom of the Church, rights for merchants to be free from exorbitant taxation, and fundamental liberties, including no deprivation of liberty other than in accordance with the law. While Magna Carta is not directly enforced in modern times, it symbolizes an assertion of the limits of the monarchy’s powers and the corresponding rights of individuals/subjects.

The Petition of Right in 1628 prohibited the imposition of taxes without Parliament’s consent.

The Bill of Rights was put in place in the context of replacing King James II with King William III and Queen Anne. The Henry VIII Succession Act established the primacy of the king as the head of the Church of England, replacing papal authority over the Church in England. This led to a struggle between Catholic and Protestant interests.

In 1685, the Catholic King James II ascended to the throne and sought to remove discrimination against Catholics. Anglican interests negotiated with William of Orange, the Protestant husband of James’ daughter Mary, leading to William seizing the throne. A male heir was born to James, providing a Catholic era. In November 1688, William of Orange landed with an army, James II fled to France, and was ultimately defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

An assembly of peers, former members of the dissolved Parliament, advised Prince William to summon a convention of peers and commoners. The convention met in 1689 and declared that James II had subverted the constitution and abdicated, leaving the throne vacant.

The Crown was offered to William and Mary, and the convention declared itself to be the Parliament. The convention passed the Bill of Rights, outlining the terms on which the Crown was offered to William and Mary. William and Mary were not to be unrestricted monarchs, and centuries of conflict between the Crown-in-Parliament and the Church were resolved by a rebalancing of power in favor of Parliament.

The Bill of Rights contained several articles, including the following:

• The Crown could not suspend, accept, or execute laws without Parliament’s consent.
• Money could not be levied by the Crown without Parliament’s consent.
• Parliamentary consent was required for raising an army in peacetime.
• Free election of members of Parliament.
• Freedom in speech and debates in Parliament proceedings were not to be questioned in any court.
• No excessive bail, fines, or cruel or unusual punishments.
• Guaranteed jury trials.
• Parliament was required to meet frequently.

The Bill of Rights was enacted as the Crown and Parliament Recognition Act of 1689. The Meeting of Parliament Act of 1694 mandated that Parliament must meet at least every three years. The Act of Settlement in 1700 defined the rights of succession to the throne. Judges were to have security while they behaved well, and the Crown could not dismiss judges at its discretion.

Succession to the Crown was linked to Protestant heirs, and Roman Catholics or those who converted to Catholicism could not succeed to the Crown.

The Treaty of Union with Scotland in 1706 unified Scotland and England into Great Britain. The two countries shared the same sovereign for over 100 years. The treaty provided for the unification of the kingdoms into one, with a single parliament.

The Court of Session in Scotland remained as then constituted, and the Lower Courts remained subject to alteration by Parliament. Alterations involving Scottish rights were not permitted unless deemed for the evident utility of the subjects.

Ireland remained a separate kingdom under the monarch’s rule but subject to significant legal and practical political control by Great Britain for several hundred years before the Acts of Union in 1800. In an attempt to limit revolution and provide a lasting settlement, the British Prime Minister negotiated with the Irish Parliament for a union between Ireland and Great Britain.

Catholic emancipation was promised. The Act of Union, passed by the Great Britain and Irish Parliaments in 1800, came into force on January 1, 1801. The Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain reunited as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Twenty-eight Irish peers and four British peers were to sit in the House of Lords, and one hundred MPs were to sit in the House of Commons. The House of Lords was to be the ultimate court in the United Kingdom. Emancipation was blocked by King George III, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister William Pitt.

The Government of Ireland Act created separate devolved parliaments for Northern Ireland (six counties) and Southern Ireland (26 counties). The Parliament of Southern Ireland was never operational and was superseded by the Anglo-Irish Treaty and the eventual secession of the Irish Free State from the United Kingdom. The Northern Ireland Parliament remained in existence until 1972.

The Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act of 1922 provided for the establishment of the Irish Free State as having the same dominion status as Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand. This status evolved over time, as described in other parts of this work.

Under the Statute of Westminster, dominions gained greatly enhanced freedom. The Fianna Fáil government in the Irish Free State removed most vestiges of dominion status, effectively creating a de facto republic. In 1937, a new constitution was adopted, creating a public name (eventually renamed the Republic of Ireland in 1949) and withdrawing from the Commonwealth.

Under the Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act of 1972, the Northern Ireland Parliament was suspended indefinitely and eventually abolished, leading to the establishment of the current devolution structures, as outlined in other sections of this work.

The European Communities Act of 1973 regulated and allowed for the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Union. European Union Law asserted primacy over domestic law, allowing laws passed by Parliament to be held invalid by the court if they were inconsistent with community law.

The Human Rights Act incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law. The Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 abolished the office of the Lord Chancellor, transferring his powers to the Lord Chief Justice, and renamed the appellate committee of the House of Lords as the Supreme Court.

Important court cases have defined the relationship between the Crown, the executive, Parliament, the judiciary, and the people. Although the courts have played an important role in evolving constitutional rules, parliamentary sovereignty has been firmly established since the 17th century. Despite declarations to the contrary prior to that time, judges do not have the power to question the validity of an act of Parliament.

According to the rule of law, international courts can challenge the legality of delegated legislation on the basis of incompatibility with an Act of Parliament.