Constitution of the United Kingdom, which has a number of characteristic features, is a unique phenomenon in the modern world.The first feature is its historical character: as a set of legal norms, precedents and customs that define the structure and powers of the authorities, the relationship between the state and the citizens, the Constitution of Britain evolved gradually.
second distinguishing feature of British Basic Law - its flexibility.To review any constitutional provisions do not require the passage of a complicated and lengthy procedure changes (amendments), as practiced in other countries.The flexibility of the Constitution does not mean its instability.A guarantee of stability of the Basic Law of the country performs well-known British conservatism.
Another feature is that the single act called "The Constitution of the United Kingdom" does not exist.In this sense, it is unwritten.Scripture t. E. Fixed on paper, part of the British constitution includes various pieces of legislation aimed at regulating the issues of a constitutional nature.
Constitution of the UK has three components:
- statutory law;
- common (case) law;
- constitutional agreement.
establish the exact number of sources of law, which includes the Constitution of the United Kingdom, it is not possible because of the lack of criteria on which one or the other source must be attributed to one of the parts of the document.
source of statutory law are acts adopted in accordance with the procedure sanctioned by parliament and head of state (the Statute), as well as acts adopted by other public authorities on the basis of the rights delegated by the supreme legislative body (acts of delegated legislation).Most of the acts of a constitutional nature adopted at different times the British Parliament.The structure is composed of statutory law regulations in force to this day:
- legal acts adopted several centuries ago (the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, and others.);
- laws passed in the last century (an Act of Parliament, the House of Commons Act, the law on ministers of the Crown, etc.).
common law in the UK created by the courts.Judges, guided by the principle of "to abide scrupulously resolved before» (stare decisis), the precedents apply to the particular circumstances and facts of each court case.Thus, the sources of the common law are legal precedents - the rules and principles that were formulated in specific cases.As a rule, they are solutions of so-called high courts on constitutional matters.Case law is used for the regulation of certain rights of citizens, as well as issues relating to the privileges of the crown.
constitutional treaty (also referred to as the constitutional traditions, the Convention's norms) are part of the political practice in which political forces establish rules or conclude agreements, becomes the norm.
to legal sources of the British Basic Law also include the opinions published by authoritative scholars on the right, that is, doctrinal sources.
