The British Constitution
The constitution of Britain has traditionally been split between royal
prerogative statutes, common law, convention, convention and
authoritative opinion. But recent external developments such as the
European Union (EU) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)
have had a strong influence on Britain.
The Royal Prerogative are a set of privileges that the Royal family
since the Middle Ages. However, as the power of the monarchy declined,
the power was now with the Prime minister and his cabinet. Some of the
Royal Prerogatives include the powers to declare war, make treaties,
issue orders to armed forces and dissolve parliament.
The British constitution is made statutes. A Statute is and Act of
Parliament which is a law approved by parliament and is enforceable by
the law courts. Statutes can change the constitution, but doesn't have
to undergo any special procedures to be made. Some of the most
important statutes directly relate to the rights of citizens and how
the country should be governed e.g. The Haebus Corpus Act (1679) which
stated that anyone who has been arrested must be brought before a
court for a just trial and The Devolution reforms for Wales and
Scotland (1997-98) which allowed the two countries to have their own
parliament. In theory, parliament can pass any law it wishes but
because of the membership to the EU in 1972, European Law is binding
on all member states and therefore takes precedence over domestic law.
Common Law is the law made by judges which have been gradually been
accepted over a period of time. Much of the original law for civil
liberties (e.g. publication, press and free speech) are all based on
the common law. The rule in Great Britain is that if there isn't a law
against it, it must be legal.
Conventions are regularly observed practices but have no legal basis
and are not enforceable in the courts. All states evolve around
constitutional conventions if they are flexible enough. They are the
generally agreed practices relating to the working of the political
The constitution was a document that embodies the fundamental laws and principles by which the U.S is governed. The constitution states basic rights for its citizens. Delegates signed the constitution on September 17, 1787. There is a total of 27 constitutional amendments. The reasoning for writing it was for a stronger federal government - legislative, executive and judicial. The constitution was a break with a past of ‘unfair’ taxes, wars and ‘unfair’ treatment.
Some people have always wondered whether the making of Constitution of the United States was, in fact, supposed to happen at the Constitutional Convention or if it was even supposed to be drawn up in the way it was. In this essay, I will summarize to different views on what went on at the Constitutional Convention and how the Constitution of the United States come about. I want to emphasize that none of these views or theories discussed in this essay are my own. The convention that is referred to was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It began In May of 1787.
an Act of Parliament, a court ruling or an EU law in comparison to the
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Parliamentary sovereignty, a core principle of the UK's constitution, essentially states that the Parliament is the ultimate legal authority, which possesses the power to create, modify or end any law. The judiciary cannot question its legislative competence, and a Parliament is not bound by former legislative provisions of earlier Parliaments. The ‘rule of law’ on the other hand, is a constitutional doctrine which primarily governs the operation of the legal system and the manner in which the powers of the state are exercised. However, since the Parliament is capable of making any law whatsoever, the concept of the rule of law poses a contradiction to the principle of parliamentary supremacy, entailing that Parliament is not bound by the Rule of Law, and it can exercise power arbitrarily.
The U.S. Constitution has a unique history. Facing drafts and ratifications it was finally created under the founding fathers in 1787. The constitution is the foundation for the government we have today and influences almost every decision that government officials make. However, before the constitution was influencing, it was influenced. The political, economic, and diplomatic crises of the 1780s not only helped shape America, but also the provisions found the constitution.
The document I chose to write about is the United States Constitution. When the thirteen British colonies in North America declared their independence in 1776, they laid down that “governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The “colonies” had to establish a government, which would be the framework for the United States. The purpose of a written constitution is to define and therefore more specifically limit government powers. After the Articles of Confederation failed to work in the 13 colonies, the U.S. Constitution was created in 1787.
In creating the Constitution, the states had several different reactions, including a rather defensive reaction, but also an understanding reaction. As a document that provided the laws of the land and the rights of its people. It directs its attention to the many problems in this country; it offered quite a challenge because the document lent itself to several views and interpretations, depending upon the individual reading it. It is clear that the founders’ perspectives as white, wealthy or elite class, American citizens would play a role in the creation and implementation of The Constitution.
The Articles of Confederation, adopted in 1781 represented the former colonist’s first attempt to establish a new government after the Revolutionary War. These Articles provided a weak political document that was meant to keep the states united temporarily. The states had all the power, so any changes made to the Article of Confederation would take every state to approve it or amend it. In February 1787, Congress decided that a convention should be convened to revise the Article of Confederation (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2009). Congress felt the Article of Confederation was not enough to effectively deal with the young nations issues. Congress knew it was time for the country to move forward, and to do that, there would be some big changes ahead, and that was the end of the Articles of Confederation, and the beginning of the created US Constitution.
The United States Constitution is the law of the United States. It is the foundation of this country and the most important document in its history. It provides the guidelines for the government and citizens of the United States. The Constitution will unquestionably continue to carry us into the 22nd century, just as it has for over two hundred years. The principles of the Constitution remain strong to this day, especially with respect to our government and to the Bill of Rights. To terminate the Constitution will essentially serve to undo two hundred years of history. If anything were to be changed about the Constitution, it would be the expansion of its principles, such as the growth of individuals’ rights.
The Constitution of the United States is an intricate document, that has influenced and shaped many newly formed Democratic nations. Many people believe that the ideas in the American Constitution are all novel and original, but that is untrue. The roots of American Constitutionalism are found in the historical paradigms of Western tradition. The fact is, constitutional doctrines were long developed and put into use long before the birth of America. The Greeks, the Romans, the English, and even the Colonialist in the New World all formed constitutional doctrines that would later influence the Founding Fathers of the American Constitution.
Could you imagine a world without a constitution? No rules. Laws. Consequences. The world would be in a much worse place than it is today. Over 200 years ago the founding fathers gathered in Pennsylvania, where the constitutional convention was held in order to amend the articles of confederation. As they intended to amend the plan, they realized that it would be impossible so they secretly began working on an entire new constitution. The United States Constitution. It established the forms of national government and defined the rights and liberties of the American people. The Unites States constitution has seven principles, those which are, Popular Sovereignty, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, limited Government, Republicanism, Federalism, and Individual Rights. Each principle has its own meaning and purpose as to why it was included in the constitution.
Perhaps the greatest document of all time, the Constitution of the United States of America was not easily created. Fifty-five great men were needed to hammer out all the details of the Constitution in a long grueling process. As James Madison, architect of the constitution said, “The [writing of the Constitution] formed a task more difficult than can be well conceived by those who were not concerned in the execution of it. Adding to [the difficulty] the natural diversity of human opinions on all new and complicated subjects, it is impossible to consider the degree of concord which ultimately prevailed as less than a miracle.” The “natural diversity of human opinions” which Madison spoke of can be split into two basic groups, Federalists, and Anti-Federalists. The Constitution took so long to be created because of the opposite views of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
The United States Constitution is founded on the principles of natural law. This law governs and transcends any political activity is a state theory based on the idea of social contract, the people are the source and basis of the authority of the rulers. The Constitution defines the principles of a federation that recognizes both levels of government based on the separation and balance of powers and the division of responsibilities between the federal state (foreign policy, defense, foreign trade and between States, etc.) and the Federated States (justice, health, protection of individual rights, education, etc.). The constitution is therefore much more than a piece of legislation because it relates to the greatest debates of American
When the Constitution of the United States was first created in 1787, its purpose was to unify our country. However, by 1850, the United States had become 'source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the union it had created.' What happened during the 63 years after it was first established to 'contribute to the failure of the union it had created?' One must look at what the Constitution promoted to make the country unified and what it did to make it disunified. Compromises such as 3/5, the Missouri, and the tariff of 1850 all helped to unify and shape our country. However, compromises such as the Fugitive Slave Law, Popular Sovereignty, and the slave trade all led to disunify our country. The large populous states naturally wanted the number of representatives in the new Congress to be based on population. The Virginia Plan provided that there would be two houses of Congress and that in each one representation would be based on population. Like many other ideas that have made history, it was remarkably simple. Why not divide the Congress into two houses? In one house (the Senate) each state, regardless of population, would have the same number of representatives. In the other house (the House of Representatives) each member would represent the same number of people. 'Quite appropriately this came to be called the Great Compromise. Other major compromises came on slavery and on the control of commerce. The southern states, where the slaves were really treated as property, still wanted the slaves counted as people for the purposes of representation in the New House of Representatives. Some delegates argued that if one kind of property was counted f...