Essay On The British Constitution

History of British Constitution

Constitutions are known to be the highest laws of land, which provides principles governing relations between states and its citizens. In United Kingdom (UK), the British constitution is one which exists in abstract sense or in other words ‘unwritten’ or ‘uncodified’, because it derives from several sources but is not archived or compiled into a single document.

Sir Ivor Jennings mentioned that ‘If a constitution means a written document, then obviously Great Britain has no constitution…obviously Great Britain has such institutions and rules’. Apart from being ‘uncodified’, the constitution has no strict separation of powers but is unitary in nature.

The reason the British Constitution is uncodified can be

The founding legal source is Magna Carta 1215, which originated from an unsuccessful attempt to establish peace between royalist and rebel factions during the outbreak of the First Barons' War. Despite a robust administrative system, King John and his predecessors exercised powers arbitrarily under the principle of ‘vis et voluntas’ which means ‘force and will’ to justify that the king will always be above law.

Another landmark source is the Bill of Rights (1689), which established Parliamentary sovereignty, over the Crown in ruling the kingdom. This Bill has limited monarchical powers, but established free and fair elections, freedom of speech, certain rights of individuals from cruel punishments, and liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defence under the rule of

While the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK as part of the Labour Party’s promise in their propaganda of ‘Bringing Rights Home’ for General Elections 1992, the signing of European Communities Act 1972 made UK a legal partner in the European Union. Other sources include Act of Habeas Corpus 1679, Parliaments Act 1911 (Amended 1949) and Statute of Westminster which regulates relationships of Dominions and Britain.

Non-legal sources which contribute to the Constitution are parliamentary privileges, royal prerogatives and constitutional conventions.

Regardless of this, renowned Victorian economist Walter Bagehot evaluated that the role of monarchy remains relevant until today, as it symbolises the unity of national community. He wrote that ‘The nation is divided into parties, but the crown is of no party…’ Interpreting Bagehot’s words, Sovereign is important to ruling of government as it has accumulated most experience and knowledge than any other minister serving the Parliament from the course of long reign.

Functions of British