British Politics.

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British Politics

Someya Qureshi

A constitution is a system of laws, customs and conventions which regulate the relations between the area’s of the state and the citizen.

A constitution sets out the system of government ‘The whole system of government of a country, the collection of rules which establish and regulate or govern the government’.

It is primarily a set of rules specifying how a country should be governed.

It often refers to a document or documents which embody the most important laws establishing the structure and principle of government.

A constitution sets out the formal structure of government, specifying the powers and institutions of central government, and the balance between central and other levels of government.

Constitutions give structure and organisation to the process of an institution.

Most constitutions are designed to establish the framework of a state, the structures and powers, procedures and processes of the institutions of government.  

Matters which are usually contained in a constitution include information on elections and how they are conducted, The relationship between the executive and judicial parts of government for example, what powers the prime minister or the president has and how they can be checked or removed, usually a statement as to where sovereignty lies, ways in which the constitution can be changed, lists of what rights citizens have and finally the overall type of government.

As mentioned the constitution performs three functions, First the constitution allocates governmental activities, defining what actions are within the political sphere, that is, what the scope of government power is and what political structures will perform these various actions.  For example, the US constitution gives Congress the power to levy taxes but forbids it to establish an official state Church; in the UK there is an established state Church.  In other, non-democratic states, the power of the state may extend to banning certain activities (like drinking alcohol) or prohibiting the holding of specific religious or political views or discriminating against specific people (as the German constitution directed under Hitler).

Second, it establishes the formal power relationships among the political structures, indicating the conditions under which each is independent or dependent upon the actions of the others.  For example, a British Prime Minister can appoint or dismiss other Cabinet ministers.  

Third, the constitution limits the power of the rulers and guarantees the rights of the ruled, by defining the maximum extent of the state's authority over its citizens and by enumerating citizens' freedoms and benefits from the state. For example, British subjects have a longstanding right under the common law to a jury trial.

Among the features of a constitution are the following:

Details of election procedures – for example, in the UK the Quinquennial Act requires a general election to be held at least every 5 years. The Monarch must dissolve parliament to call an election but – by convention – (s)he does so on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The composition of, and powers of, elected Assemblies. For example, in the USA one chamber – the Senate – represents the 50 states, 2 per state. The other chamber – the House of Representatives – represents population; there are 435 members each representing approximately 550,000 voters. In the UK, THE house Of lords has the power to delay laws passed by the Commons for only one year.

The powers of the executive (or government) – for example, an American President has the role of Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Rights of Citizens – in the USA, a Bill of Rights guarantees central principles like freedom of religion.

There are two types of constitutions. Codified constitutions and Uncodified constitutions.

Codified constitutions are largely written, centred around a single document incorporating key constitutional provisions that are binding on all political institutions.

They are usually ‘entrenched’ enjoying the protection of a higher or supreme court, and can only be repealed or amended by special provisions beyond the ordinary legislative process.

As it may only be amended by special provisions, only the codified constitution is described as ‘rigid’ as it is difficult to change involving complicated procedures.

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Example of a codified constitution includes the American Constitution of 1878 which has only been amended a total of 26 times.

To amend the United States Constitution a majority of at least two thirds is required, in both houses of congress and all state legislators.

However the US constitutions flexibility is increased by the existence of a supreme court which has the power to interpret and re-interpret the constitution to allow it to move with the time.  

A uncodified constitution is an unwritten constitution which is not embodied in one single document and is composed of a variety ...

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