Q 1: DISCUSS THE SALIENT FEATURES OF BRITISH CONSTITUTION

(1999).
1. Introduction:
The English Constitution has made a great circuit of the globe and has
become a common possession of civilized man. (G. B Adams)
A Constitution means certain principles on which the Government of the
State is organized and which determines the relations between the people
and the Government the Constitution of U.K is unique in nature and has
provided inspiration for a number of other constitutions in the world.
Following are the salient features of the UK constitution:
I. Unwritten:
The British Constitution is unwritten in nature but it does not imply that
all of its parts are unwritten. It means that it has not been reduced to writing
in a single document. Some of the components are found in written from.
Such as the Reform Act 1832 and the Parliament Act of 1911 etc.
II. Evolution Growth:
British Constitution is a result of an evolutionary growth. Constitution
efforts as well as needs of time shaped its spontaneous growth.
III. Flexible Constitution:
British Constitution is a flexible Constitution and parliament can amend
it like alterations in the statutory laws by a simple majority.
IV. Unitary:
British have unitary constitution. All powers of the state are
concentrated in the hands of a single government for the whole country.
There are no units or states in British.
V. Bicameralism:
The Parliament consists of two chambers House of Lords and House of
Commons. The House of commons is a popular chamber whose member
directly elected by the people while the House of Lords is basically a
hereditary chamber and its member are nominated by the Queen.
VI. Supremacy of the Parliament:
In U.K, Parliament has complete Supremacy or sovereignty. No law
enacted by the parliament can be challenged in the court on the plea that is
against the constitution.
According To De Loeme:
British Parliament can do everything except to make a man into a woman.
VII. Constitution Monarchy:
From Constitution point of view, the crown is the repository of the
entire Government of authority in British.
VIII. Contrast in Theory and Practice:
There is sharp contrast between theory and practice in U.K. As ogg
points out that theoretically, British Government is absolute monarchy, its
government from signifies constitution monarchy while in practice, the
Government structure is closer to republican from.

IX. Collective Responsibility:

Ministers must stand together and they cannot oppose the government
policy every minister is also individually responsible to the House of
Commons and the crown.
X. Limited Separation of Power:
In British, there is limited Separation of power. There is concentration
of political powers in the parliament while the cabinet which exercises
executive power is just a committee of the parliament. Nevertheless many
safeguards have been provided especially under Act of Settlement of 1701 to
secure the independence of judiciary from under influence on the part of
other two branches on the Government.
XI. Independence of Judiciary:
Necessary safeguards have been provided against all sorts of
interference in judicial process. Judges are paid liberal salaries and ensured
security of service.
XII. Rule of Law:
U.K Constitution provides rule of law. The principle of rule of law may
be defined as that none of the person in above or below the law. All the
persons are equal in the eyes of law. F any person violates the law, he should
face the trial of the case in the Government and no person is given
imprisonment until his offence is proved in the court.
XIII. Fundamental Rights:
Fundamental rights of the citizens have not been incorporated in the
form of a list in the English Constitution. Constitution law is not the creator
but a product of fundamental rights, which have been recognized from time
to time by the Courts.
XIV. Conventions.
Conventions play a vital role in the British political system. A
government is formed and removed on the basis of convention. As Prof.
Smith says that the conventions are main living source behind the
Constitution.
XV. Two Party System:
Two party system is flourished in British right from the beginning of the
parliamentary period. Before the emergence of the present labor party in the
second decay of the present century, the fight was between the
conservatives and the Liberal party, but now the liberal party has lost its
political significance.
XVI: Universal Adult Suffrage:
Every individual of the age of 18 has the right to vote.
XVII. Mixed Constitution:
The British Constitution is a mixture of the monarchical, aristocratic and
democratic principal.
XVIII. Conservativeness:
The British Constitution is a symbol of Conservativeness. The trend of
the people of U.K is absolutely n favor of old institutions and this concept is
existence of conservatism.

XIX. Establishment of Local Government Institutions:

The existence of local Government in U.K. Constitution is another
comprehensive feature of the Constitution. Local Government institutions are
symbols of the civil liberties and freedom of the people.
XX. Unreality:
Another characteristic of the English Constitution is its unreality. It has
righty been pointed out that nothing in it is what seems or seems what it.
3. Conclusion:
To conclude, I can say, that U.K. Constitution in neither absolutely
unwritten nor absolutely written. It is a combination of both and has made a
circuit for the globe and has become the common possession of civilized
man.

SOURCES
Introduction.

The British constitution is the child of wisdom and chance.

There can be no state without a constitution. The constitution consists of fundamental rules
which determine and distribute functions and powers among the various organs of the
government as well as determine the relations of governing authorities with the people.
Most of the modern constitutions are written, the British constitution is the only constitution
which is unwritten.
Lord Bryce wrote:
British constitution works by understanding which no writer can formulate.
French writer De Tocqueville once remarked:
England has no constitution, Because he did not found it in a written form. But the British
constitution is the chief model for all the countries. It has shown a unique ability to adopt
without violence.

Sources:
The sources of the British constitution can be divided into two parts:
The laws of the constitution
The conventions of the constitution

A) The laws of the constitution:

The laws of the constitution are based on the written documents. These include Historic
documents, acts of the parliament, judicial decisions and common laws.
1. The Historic constitutional documents
The historic constitutional documents form a very important source of the British
constitution. The importance of these documents can be judged from the fact that the
transition process from absolute monarchy to constitutional government in Britain was
triggered by these elements e.g.:
Magna carta (1215)
The petition of rights (1628)
The bill of rights (1689) etc.

2. The acts of the parliament:

The laws made by the parliament from time to time have also contributed and furthered the
transition to constitutional government in Britain e.g.
The act of Habeas corpus (1679)
The act of settlement ( 1701)
Reform acts of ( 1832,1867,1884,1918,1928)
Acts of parliament ( 1911, 1949)
Indian independence act of 1947 etc.

3. Judicial decisions:
These are also important sources of the British constitution. Judicial decisions explain and
interpret the rules and statutes passed by the parliament. Here it is to be noted that these
rules cannot be challenged by any court in Britain.

4. Common law:
Common laws are also a very important source of British constitution. Especially these
relating to the liberty of the subjects i.e. many basic rights of the people e.g. jury trial,
freedom of speech and assembly are based on common law as practiced by various courts
in the country.

B) The conventions of the constitution:

The conventions are not recognized or enforced by any court. These are highly respected by
the British electorate and leadership. The conventions of the British constitution are actually
of unwritten character. They form an important part of the constitution. They are important
because they have enabled the British political system to adopt itself to the changing needs
of the time. Some of these conventions are:
1. The British monarch cannot veto the bills passed by the parliament.
2. The sovereign invites the leader of the majority party in the House of
Commons to form the cabinet.
3. The Prime Minister and Finance Minister both are taken from the House of commons
4. The money bills originate in the House of Commons.
5. The cabinet remains in power as long as it enjoys the confidence of the majority party in
the House of Commons, otherwise it has to resign.
6. All the civil servants are tried in the same court like any other citizen ( Rule of Law)

Conclusion:
Professor Munro writes:
The British constitution is not to be found in a definite and precise document. It is a
complex amalgam of institutions. It is a complex compendium of charters, statutes,
decisions, precedents, usages and traditions. Some of them are living only in the
understanding of the people.
Thus the study of the sources of the British constitution reveals the fact that if on one hand
it consists of laws which are written, it also has an unwritten part in the shape of
conventions. Two factors that have definitely contributed to the ability of the British
constitution to adopt itself to the changing needs of the time are;
its evolutionary nature.
The conventions of the constitution.

Common Law:
Common law may be defined as those rules which are product of slow
process of long historical growth being based upon customs and traditions.
These principles are not set down in any statute or ordinance. The Courts
recognize these principles. The prerogatives of the crown, the right of trial by
jury the right of freedom of speech rest almost entirely on common law.
Historically important court judgments include those in the Case of
Proclamations, the Ship money case and Entick v. Carrington, all of which
imposed limits on the power of the executive. A constitutional precedent
applicable to British colonies is Campbell v.Hall, which effectively extended
those same constitutional limitations to any territory which has been granted
a representative assembly. Attorney General vs. Jonathan Cape Ltd. is an
example though of where the convention has failed to apply in modern
government. M v Home Office [1993] this established the law that the Home
Secretary cannot ignore rule of law.
Convention:
According to Prof. Dicey Convention are those customs or understanding as
to the mode in which various members of sovereign legislative body should
exercise their discretionary authority. The substantial portion of U .H K.
Constitution is based on convention. These are not codified in any book of
law. The Courts do not enforce conventions but however, these rules are
recognized by the constitution. Rules of the constitutional behavior which is
considered to
be binding by and upon those who operate the constitution but which are nei
ther enforced by the Law Courts nor by the presiding officers in the House of
Parliament.
Major conventions in UK1 The Crown must give Royal Assent to the bills.
2 Prime Minister will be form House of Commons. The prime minister must
be the leader of the political party winning a general election.
3 The prime minister must be a member of House of Commons.
4 Ministers must be appointed in advice of the PM.
5 Every minister must be accountable for their own conduct and also fir the
failure and success if their department. (Individual ministerial responsibility)
6 Ministers are collectively responsible for the decisions of the government.
(Collective ministerial responsibility)
7 Decisions of the Judiciary must not be criticized by MPs and Ministers in
public.
8 Judges must not be involved in political activities.
9 Parliament must be summoned to meet at least once a year.
Royal Prerogative:
The monarchy has a significant constitutional presence in these and other
areas, but very
limited power, because the prerogative is nowadays in the hands of the prim
e minister and otherministers or other government officials. Certain powers

pre-dating the establishment of

the present parliamentary system are still formally retained by the Queen. In
practice almost all ofthese powers are exercised only on the decision of
Ministers of the Crown (the Cabinet). These powers, known as the royal
prerogative, include the following:
The appointment and dismissal of government ministers
The summoning, opening, prorogation, and dissolution of Parliament
The assenting to legislation
The power to declare war, and to deploy the armed forces
The power to conduct relations with foreign states, including the
recognition of states or governments, and the making of treaties
The issuing of passports
To sum up, we can state that much of the UK constitution is now
written down, in a whole swathe of statute law. However, a significant
element is unwritten and indeed not law, being the Conventions of the
constitution, which oil the wheels and plug the gaps. Vitally important
matters like the existence of the Prime Minister and the real powers of
the Queen are governed by convention.