THE BRITISH

POLITICAL
TRADITION
(SOURCES, SALIENT FEATURES AND
CONVENTIONS OF THE BRITISH
CONSTITUTION)
Submitted To:

Submitted By:

Dr. Sarabjeet Kaur

U.I.L.S.

Adeshwar Singh Pannu

5th Semester (Major)
Roll Number 4/12
U.I.L.S.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my heart-felt gratitude to my
teacher, Dr Sarabjeet, who helped me in the making of this
project and encouraged me to collect practical and
theoretical knowledge regarding the topic of my project.
I would also like to thank the prestigious institute,
University Institute of Legal Studies for giving me the
opportunity to hone my writing skills and help in collect
data, practical and theoretical, and information regarding
the topic of my project.
Yours Sincerely,
Adeshwar Singh Pannu

INDEX
Source of British Constitution
Features of British Constitution
Conventions of British Constitution

SOURCES OF THE BRITISH

CONSTITUTION
As the UK does not have a codified document, we have
look for the key rules and practices of the British system in
a number of places:

1. Statute Law:
This is law crated by Parliament. Acts of Parliament are approved
by the Commons, Lords and the Monarchs, gain the force of law,
and are then implemented by the executive and enforced by the
courts. Any law that involves constitutional relationships becomes
part of the constitution. Examples of this include the Parliament
Act of 1911 (established the dominance of the House of
Commons), the European Communities Act of 1972 (by which the
UK joined the EEC) and the Human Rights Act of 1999 (which
enshrined key rights into UK law)
Statute Law is the most important source of the UK constitution as,
under the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty, the UK
Parliament is the supreme law-making body.

2. Common Law:
This is law that has been developed and applied by UK courts.
Where there is no clear statute law, the courts have to interpret and
clarify the law. As no law is so precise that it needs no

interpretation, judges are constantly contributing to the

constitution.

3. Royal Prerogative:
This refers to discretionary powers of the Crown that are employed
by Government Ministers in the name of the Monarch. The Crown
retains a number of powers that date back to before Britain became
a constitutional monarchy in the C17th. These include the power to
declare war, to dissolve parliament, to appoint government
ministers and judges. Today these powers lie with the Prime
Minister and Government Ministers, the Prime Minister will
inform the Monarch of their decision but the Monarch has not real
power to veto their chosen course.

4. Conventions:
These are habits, norms and rules that through long usage have
come to be considered binding on those who should abide by the
constitution. They are neither codified nor enforced by courts of
law, and as such there is no punishment if there is breached.
Conventions include individual and collective ministerial
responsibility. Conventions may not have the force of law, but
breaking them can have political repercussions. For example if a
minister refuses to resign in the light of mistakes made in their
department, then the ministers position is weakened, they are open
to parliamentary and media criticism, and this can even reflect on
the authority of the Prime Minister.

5. Authoritative Works/Academic Opinion:

Some famous commentators have, through political and legal texts,
become such influential observers and commentators on the UK
constitution that their works have become accepted as works of

authority on the UK constitution. The most famous examples (all

C19th) are:
~ Walter Bagehots The English Constitution
~ Erskine Mays Treatise on the Law, Privileges, Proceedings and
Usage of Parliament
~ AV Diceys An introduction to the Study of the Law of the
Constitution

FEATURES OF THE BRITISH

CONSTITUION
Following are some of the salient features of the British
Constitution:

1. Mostly Unwritten and Non-Codified:

One of the most important features of the British Constitution is its
unwritten character. There is no such thing as a written, precise and
compact document, which may be called the British constitution.
This aspect of the Birtish Constituion resulted in De Tocqueville
remarking that the British constitution did not actually exist. The
main reason for this is that the British constitution is based on
conventions, political traditions and customs prevalent in England
for a long time, which have not been laid out in any written
document. Such unwritten sources form the major part of the
constitution.
There are many Acts, Treaties which are in written form and they
make it partly written and even then Non-codified. These were also
gradually added and adopted. The first written piece being Magna
Carta 1215, Bill of Rights 1689, Parliamentary Acts of 1911 &
1949 and many others.

2. Evolutionary Constitution:
British Constitution is the result of more than fifteen centuries and
it is still growing. It is of an evolutionary growth. It would be very

precise to call it a child of wisdom and chance. It has grown

gradually and no fixed time or a fixed number of people created it.
It was never framed by any constituent assembly. No precise date
of its birth can be given and no body of persons can claim to be its
authors because it is the product of gradual growth and
development. It has an unbroken continuity of development over a
very long period of time.

3. Flexible Constitution:
In theory, the British Constitution is a flexible constitution. It can
be passed, amended and repealed by a simple majority of
Parliament since no distinction is made between constitutional law
and ordinary law. Both are treated alike. The element of flexibility
has allowed the constitution to adapt its self to the changes in
society, stay relevant and grow with time. However, Regardless of
its flexibility, there have been a very few changes made till date.

4. Rule of Law:
Another important feature of the British constitution is the Rule of
Law. It implies the following :
1. All state actions must be authorized. Laws should not be
arbitrary.
2. Laws should be clear, certain and predictable.
3. The Laws should be applied equally to all, no one is above
the Law.
4. Laws are necessary to provide a standard to measure the
action of the state.
5. No one should be punished without a trial. It must be a fair
trial and held before an independent and impartial tribunal.

5.Sovereignty of Parliament:
British Parliament is very powerful and supreme. Following are the
major points that describe it and clarify its character:

1. There is no Law which British Parliament cannot make or undo.

2. No Court can challenge the acts or laws passed by the
parliament.
3. It rules the monarch and can decide its fortune and acts.
4. It can prohibit the King to marry a woman of his choice.
5. It can change the hereditary rule of throne by just one simple
act.
6. It can abolish monarchy, abolish House of Lords and distribute
Powers to its Citizens.
7. It can do anything, except make a man a woman and conversely

6. Unitary State:
The British constitution has unitary character as opposed to a
federal one as all powers of the government are vested in the
British Parliament, which is a sovereign body. The executive
organs of state are subordinate to it and exercise delegated powers
and are answerable to it. There is only one legislature. England,
Scotland, Wales etc. are administrative units and not political
autonomous units.

CONVENTIONS OF BRITISH
CONSTITUTION
While the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution
that is a single document, the collection of legal instruments that
have developed into a body of law known as constitutional law has
existed for hundreds of years.
British Politics and the British Constitution have many political
conventions attached to it which have developed and been
accepted over the years. A convention is an accepted way in which
things are done. They are not written down in law but tend to be
old, established practices the way they have always been done.
Though these conventions are not set in legal stone, their very
existence over the years has invariably led to the smooth operation
of government.
It is very unlikely that there would be a departure of such
conventions without good reason, even if an underlying enforcing
principle has been overtaken by history, as these conventions also
acquire the force of custom.
There have been times when conventions have been given legal
status. From the time of the English Civil War when Parliament
clashed with king over finance, it was accepted that money
bills/acts came from the House of Commons. This was given legal
status in 1911 with the Parliament Act that stated that

parliamentary finance bills/acts must originate from the House of

Commons.
Some examples of conventions are:
The monarch will accept and act on the advice of their ministers,
who are responsible to Parliament for that advice; the monarch
does not ignore that advice, except when exercising Reserve
powers.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the leader of the
party (or coalition of parties) with an absolute majority of seats in
the House of Commons and therefore most likely to command the
support of the House of Commons.
All money bills must originate in the House of Commons.
The texts of most international treaties are laid before Parliament at
least twenty one days before ratification (the 'Ponsonby Rule' of
1924).
The Westminster Parliament will only legislate on reserved
matters. It will not legislate on non-reserved matters ('devolved
matters') without first seeking the consent of the Scottish
Parliament (since 1999, the Sewel convention, later renamed to
Legislative Consent Motions).
The House of Lords shall not oppose legislation from the House of
Commons that was a part of the government's manifesto (the
Salisbury Convention)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
www.studylecturenotes.com
www.historylearningsite.co.uk
www.llbpart1notes.blogspot.in
www.wikipedia.org