The British Constitution

Before examining the nature of the British constitution it is important to have a clear understanding of what is meant by ‘organs’ or ‘institutions’ of government. In this context we mean the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, in addition, in the United Kingdom, the monarch has an important constitutional role as head of the state.

The British constitution is not ‘written’, that is to say, it has never been wholly reduced to writing. Further, since Parliament is ‘sovereign’ it can, without any special procedure, and by simple Act, alter any law at any time, however, fundamental it may seem to be. Although, therefore, the courts have always been statute to safeguard the rights of the subject and although legal remedies, such as habeas corpus, are designed to protect him, yet, under the constitution, there are no guaranteed rights similar to the fundamental liberties safeguarded by the US Constitution.

The statement that the British Constitution is not ‘written’ does not mean that the British citizens possess no important constitutional documents; it merely means that the constitution is not embodied in any single document, or series of documents, containing the essential constitutional laws. Thus, the British citizens have many enactments which either have been or still are, of great importance. One needs only to cite as examples Magna Carta (1215), the Habeas Corpus (1679), the Bill of Rights (1688) – which set out the principle rights gained by Parliament and the nation as the result of the seventeenth century constitutional struggles – the Act of Settlement, (1700), and the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.

The sources of the British Constitution can be found in custom law, case law books, European Community law (since 1972) / European Union law (at present) and, most important, constitutional conventions. These are informal or ‘moral’ rules – a code of practice for government, which has evolved over the years. They are primarily concerned with the relationship between the Crown (Monarch) and the executive and the legislature. Many constitutional rules, such, for example, as the provisions of the Act of Settlement are laws in the ordinary sense, that is, they will be recognized and enforced by the courts.

The u.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights

The constitution consists of a preamble, seven articles and 27 amendments. The Constitution, the oldest still in force in the world, sets up a federal system by dividing powers between the national and state governments. It also establishes the basic form of government: three separate independent branches (the executive, the legislative, and the judicial), each one having powers (‘checks and balances’) over others. The executive branch, the President, enforces national laws; the legislative branch, the Congress makes national laws; and the judicial branch, the Supreme Court and other federal courts, applies and interprets laws when deciding legal disputes in federal courts. It specifies the powers and duties of each federal branch of government, with all other powers and duties belonging to the state. Federal powers listed in the Constitution include the rights to collect taxes, declare war, and regulate interstate and foreign trade.

All governments and governmental groups, federal, state, and local, must operate within its guidelines. The ultimate power under the Constitution is not given to the President (the executive branch), or the Supreme Court (the judicial branch). Nor does it rest, as in many other countries, with a political group or party. It belongs to ‘We the People’, in fact and in spirit.

The United States Constitution resulted from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. When the convention was over, the proposed Constitution was sent to the states for ratification. Nine of the thirteen states were needed to ratify the Constitution in order for it to be adopted. One of the main arguments of those opposed to the ratification of the Constitution was that it did not contain a list of the rights, or a bill of rights, which a government could not take away from the people. Many who wanted ratification saw that the absence of a Bill of Rights could lead to rejection of the Constitution. They promised to work for a Bill of Rights, and on December 15, 1791 the Bill of Rights finally went into effect. Hence, the Constitution consists of the Preamble and seven articles. Twenty-seven amendments have been added to its original text. The first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights. However, only the first eight amendments deal with the guarantee of specific rights of individual citizens against any violation by the government. They stated what they considered to be the fundamental unalienable rights of any American. Among these rights are freedoms of religion, speech, and the press, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government to correct wrong. Other rights guarded the citizens against unreasonable searches, arrests and seizures of property, and established a system of justice guaranteeing orderly legal procedures. This included the right of trial by jury, that is, being judged by one’s fellow citizens. Some of these amendments are now relatively unimportant, but the Fifth Amendment retains its significance in the fight of the American people for their civil rights. It provides that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law’ and no person ‘shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.’

All the amendments adopted by the Congress have become an integral part of the Constitution. Mention should be made of some of them. The Thirteenth amendment abolished slavery. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments adopted in 1868 and 1870 defined citizenship and gave the vote to all male citizens, regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. The nineteenth gave the vote to women, and was adopted in 1920. The Twenty-second amendment, adopted in 1951, makes it impossible for any President to hold office for more than two terms. The 26^th amendment was adopted in 1971, it lowered the voting age to 18 years.

The federal and state governments formed under the Constitution, therefore, were designed to serve the people and to carry out their majority wishes (and not the other way round). One thing they did not want their government to do is to rule them. Americans expect their government to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.

3. Look through the Bill of rights in the adapted form to understand the general meaning.