Privy Council
The
Queen presides over meetings of the Privy Council. At these, among
other things, Orders in Council made under the Royal Prerogative or
under statute are approved. The Royal Prerogative mainly comprises
executive government powers controlled by constitutional
conventions (rules which are not part of the law, but which are
regarded as indispensable to the machinery of government).
In nearly all cases acts involving the Royal Prerogative are performed by Ministers who are responsible to Parliament and can be questioned about policies. Parliament has the power to abolish or restrict a prerogative right.
In addition to being informed and consulted about all aspects of national life, the Queen is free to put forward her own views, in private, for the consideration of her Ministers.
W
hat
does the Union Jack stand for and how should it be flown?
The flag of Britain, commonly known as the Union Jack (which derives from the use of the Union Flag on the jack-staff of naval vessels), embodies the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign. The emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints:
t
he
red cross of St. George, for England, on a white ground;
the white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground;
the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.
The final version of the Union Flag appeared in 1801, following the union of Great Britain with Ireland, with the inclusion of the cross of St Patrick. The cross remains in the flag although now only Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom.
Wales
is not represented in the Union Flag because, when the first version
of the flag appeared, Wales was already united with England. The
national flag of Wales, a red dragon on a field of white and green,
dates from the 15th century and is widely used throughout the
Principality.
The Union Flag should be flown with the broader diagonal band of white uppermost in the hoist (near the pole) and the narrower diagonal band of white uppermost in the fly (furthest from the pole).
Why doesn’t Britain have a written constitution?
The British constitution has evolved over many centuries. Unlike the constitutions of America, France and many Commonwealth countries, the British constitution has not been assembled at any time into a single, consolidated document. Instead it is made up of common law, statute law and convention.
Of all the democratic countries in the world, only Israel is comparable to Britain in having no single document codifying the way its political institutions function and setting out the rights and duties of its citizens. Britain does, however, have certain important constitutional documents, including the Magna Carta (1215) which protects the rights of the community against the Crown; the Bill of Rights (1689) which extended the powers of Parliament, making it impracticable for the Sovereign to ignore the wishes of the Government; and the Reform Act (1832), which reformed the system of parliamentary representation.
Common law has never been precisely defined – it is deduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges. Conventions are rules and practices which are not legally enforceable, but which are regarded as indispensable to the working of government. Many conventions are derived from the historical events through which the British system of government has evolved. One convention is that Ministers are responsible and can be held to account for what happens in their Departments. The constitution can be altered by Act of Parliament, or by general agreement to alter a convention.
The flexibility of the British constitution helps to explain why it has developed so fully over the years. However, since Britain joined the European Community in 1973, the rulings of the European Court of Justice have increasingly determined and codified sections of British law in those areas covered by the various treaties to which Britain is a party. In the process British constitutional and legal arrangements are beginning to resemble those of Europe.