Moldova State University

Faculty of International Relations,Political and Administrative Sciences

International Relations and Foreign Applied Languages Department

Report
Pecularities of British Constitution

Done by : Tatarl Anastasia

Checked by:Berzan Natalia

Chiinu,2014

The constitution of the United Kingdom is the sum of laws and principles that make up the body
politic of the United Kingdom. It concerns both the relationship between the individual and the state, and
the functioning of the legislature, the executive and judiciary. Unlike many other nations, the UK has no
single constitutional document. This is sometimes expressed by stating that it has an uncodified or
"unwritten" constitution. This is the most important and most distinguishing feature of it. It is based on
Conventions and Customs that have been prevailing from a long time in UK. Such unwritten sources form
the major part of the constitution. British constitution is an inspiration to most of the constitution of the
world. It is the oldest constitution of the world, that is why it is rightly termed as Mother of all
Constitutions. There are many Acts, Treaties which are in written form and they make it partly written and
even then Non-codified. These were also gradually added and adopted. The first written piece
being Magna Carta 1215, Bill of Rights 1689, Parliamentary Acts of 1911 & 1949 and so many
others. Conventions are deeply rooted in the British Constitution. If anyone wants to know the British
Constitution, must study the conventions carefully. There are many conventions which are only known to
the Cabinet, Judiciary and Parliament. These form the excessive unwritten part and being an important
feature are also a major source of Constitution. Though the constitution is not in a proper codified form, it
has a great adaptability character. It is very easy to amend and make new laws. It requires a simple
majority to pass an amendment. Regardless of its flexibility, there have been a very few changes made till
date. We can say that British Constitution is a blended one. This is a very unique feature of the British
Constitution. It is a mixture of Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy. The long driven conventions are a
proof of their conservative nature. This has made their Constitution even stronger. A historic feature of the
UK constitution is the Royal Prerogative. These powers are formally exercised by the monarch acting
alone, but in reality are exercised by government ministers. It gives the Crown many powers including the
power to declare war, make treaties, deploy armed forces, appoint and dismiss ministers and dissolve
parliament. In reality, the existence of the Royal Prerogative within the UK constitution means that the
Government can exercise its powers without recourse to Parliament. The gradual evolution of the British
Constitution and the English habits of retaining traditional forms have resulted in a marked difference in
theory and practice. The government in the United Kingdom in ultimate theory is an absolute Monarchy,
in form, a limited constitutional Monarchy, and in actual character, democratic republic. In theory, the
government of the UK is vested in the Crown. All officers of the State, civil and military, are appointed
and dismissed in the name of the Crown. The Ministers are Her Majestys Ministers and they remain in
office during the Royal pleasure. The Monarch is the source of law and fountain of justice. The Monarch
summons, dissolves and prorogues Parliament. No law is effective without the Crowns consent. No
parliamentary election can be held without the Royal writ. The Monarch is the Commander-in-Chief of all
British forces during peace and war. The Monarch alone can declare war and all treaties are negotiated

and concluded in the name and on behalf of the Monarch. In a nutshell, every act of government is
attributed to the Monarchs name.But all this is in theory. In practice, the Monarch has become merely a
nominal executive. Britain today is a limited monarchy. The Monarch reigns but does not rule. The real
powers of the government rest with the British Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. The members of the
Cabinet are members of the Parliament. They remain responsible to its lower house, namely, the House of
Commons, for all their acts. All this means the supremacy of the House of Commons and ultimately, that
of the people, for it is the people who elect the members of the House of Commons. Accordingly, no
government can remain oblivious of public opinion, if it is to continue in office. Thus, the British
Constitution is marked by a difference between theory and practice. Britain presents one of the most
democratic systems of government in the world. The most important principles of the UK constitution are
those of parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law. The British Constitution is a unitary and not a
federal one like that of the United States of America or India. Although there is devolution, yet all
authority flows from the Central Government centred at London. In recent years, a national Parliament in
Scotland, a national Assembly in Wales and a national Assembly in Northern Ireland have been created.
This process transferred varying levels of power from the British Parliament to these assemblies.
However, the final authority over the devolved institutions rests with the British Parliament itself.
Parliament is constitutionally supreme. The local areas, as they exist in Britain, derive their powers from
the Acts of Parliament which may be enlarged or restricted at its will. The local government machinery is
merely an agent of the Central Government. If The Parliament so desires, the Parliament can abolish the
whole complex structure of local government by a single enactment .The former means that Parliament
can make or unmake any law without being bound by, or binding, its predecessors or successors
respectively.Parliamentary sovereignty therefore means that Parliament is the supreme law-making body,
although this is now challenged by the UKs European Union membership, which gives European laws
superiority over any conflicting domestic law. Also, over the years, the application of parliamentary
sovereignty has been limited by the passing of certain laws by Parliament, such as the Human Rights Act
1998. Many people argue that the UK constitution should be codified for the following reasons:the UKs
principle of democracy and its freedoms and rights would be legally supported and defensible in the 21st
century;it would provide a clearer outline of rights for UK citizens;it would put the UK on a similar
footing with other democracies.However, there are also arguments for retaining the UK constitution in its
current form:citizens do not wish to be subjected to a single document telling them what they can and
cannot do;it would be time consuming, logistically and practically difficult trying to encapsulate the UK
constitution within a single document;if it aint broke, dont fix it the current system has served the
UK well for centuries, so why tamper with it now?

In conclusion I can say that the British constitution is a classic example of flexible constitution.It can
be passed,amended and repealed by simple majority of Parliament since no distinction is made between a
constitutional law and an ordinary law.Both are treated alike.The element of flexibility has length the
virtue of adaptability and adjustability to the British constitution.This quality has enabled it to grow with
the needs of time.