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Is The UK Constitution Un-Codified Or Unwritten?

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Constitutions control and distribute state power, setting out principles in order to maintain a stable relationship between the state and the state’s citizens. It is clear that the UK constitution is un-codified as well as unwritten to a high extent, and is constructed from several sources. Common laws are preceded by judges in relation to previous cases. European law also affects all members of the European Union state due to the European Act 1972. Statutes are approved by the parliament being the most important form of laws. There is an ongoing debate whether the UK constitution being unwritten is controlled or not. As per Lord Steyn's argument, ‘‘We do not in the United Kingdom have an “uncontrolled constitution” as the Attorney General …show more content…

Although, it is known to be unwritten, there are many written elements that make up the UK constitution such as legislations and case law. Thus, the UK can be said to have a partly written constitution. The UK has constitutional documents, first and most primary, the Magna Carta 1215 which consists of values that show limitations to the power the monarch holds. The aim behind Magna Carta was to create peace which did not quite work out. However, despite it not holding any legal significance today, it has been successful in showing the rights of citizens and has influenced many common law documents. Magna Carta was followed by the Bill of Rights 1688, which similarly had an approach to limit the powers of the monarch and also expanded the rights of Parliament. The UK has a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch governs the country in accordance to the constitution. This holds a dutiful right to express views on any government matters. These views are according to rules which are not based on individual beliefs. This therefore implies that Lord Steyn's statement is valid as the UK constitution is controlled through a monarch. The role of appointing the prime minister is also fulfilled by the monarch. This is not a statute but has been followed as a convention for many years. A historical element to the UK's constitution is that the Royal prerogative gives powers to the Crown, which include the right to …show more content…

This is known as the checks and balance system. In addition, everyone is bound by the Rule of Law (RoL) including the government. Hence, the RoL acts as a check on the power of government. Any illegitimacy within the government will result in revolting effects e.g. attacks by its own citizens and possibly other existing governments. In addition, the US are able to pass laws that are not well suited to their constitution. This is not the case in the UK, as the Supreme Court ensures that parliament do not pass laws that are incompatible to the constitution as seen case of AXA General Insurance Ltd v Lord Advocate , Lord Reed held: ‘Westminster can be described as sovereign: its powers were conferred by an Act of Parliament, and those powers, being defined, are limited. Yet, as held in R v Home Sec ex p Anderson per Lord Steyn: “Our constitution has, however, never embraced a rigid doctrine of separation of powers. The relationship between the legislature and the executive is close" . Therefore, separation of powers is not enforced to a full extent and certainly does not give citizens the right to check and punish a

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