What makes up the UK constitution?
A constitution is the law determining the fundamental political principles of a government. It establishes the character of a government by defining the basic principles to which it will adhere, describing the organisation of the government and the extent of and limitations to its powers.
Constitutions may be written or unwritten, and may constitute one document or many documents together. Typically, a constitution is designed to have a greater degree of permanency than general statutes and will thus require special procedures for amendment. However, constitutional law is not intended to be inflexible such that it cannot adapt to changes in society over time. Thus, constitutional law also evolves through amendments and through judicial interpretation.
The UK does not have a single, written constitution. However, this does not mean that the UK has an ‘unwritten’ constitution; it is, in fact, mostly written, but instead of being contained in one formal document, it is formed from various sources including statute law, case law made by judges, and international treaties. Much of the relationship between the Sovereign and Parliament is governed by tradition and convention rather than statute.
Some of the most significant written documents that form the constitution include:
• Charter of Liberties 1100
• Magna Carta 1215 and subsequent amendments
• The Petition of Right 1628
• English Bill of Rights 1689
• Habeas Corpus Act 1679
• Act of Settlement 1701
• The Acts of Union (1707 and 1801)
• Statute of Westminster 1931
• Scotland Act of 1998 and associated legislation
• Government of Wales Act of 1998 and associated legislation
• Northern Ireland Act of 1998 and associated legislation
• The Belfast Agreement 1998
• The Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into UK law certain rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. This means that a consideration of human rights affects every area of government and thus this is also considered to form part of the constitutional law of the UK. Other treaties to which the UK is a signatory, and EU law, can also be said to form part of UK constitutional law.
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