Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Codification of the
UK Constituion
- New Labour (post 1997)
- Legislative changes
- Devolution
- Most significant act to alter the constiution? Are there now three/ four constitutions in the
UK?
- Limited? Important functions are still exercised by
Whitehall and Westminster Parliament.
- Robinson v Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland [2002]
- Duport Steel and others v Sirs and Others
- KILBRANDON REPORT 1991. Devolution can
bedefined as involving the 'delegation of central govt
powers without the relinquishment of sovereignty'.
- Is this applicable in 2014? No. It can only be
sustainable if we rely on a simple view of
sovereignty that disregards the EU.
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Groundwork for a written constitution?
- Judge LJ: ' The act is carefully drafted to ensure that
the court cannot and must not strike down or
dispense with any single item of primary legislation'.
- s.3. Interpretive Obligation
- Allows the courts to interpret legislation to be compatible with ECHR, 'so far
as possible to do so', the courts have understood this to give them a strong
duty to read legislation so as to be ECHR compliant.
- s.4. Declarations of Incompatability
- Does not affect the validity, continuing operation or
enforcement of the provision.
- Freedom of Information Act 2000
- General right of access to
info held by public
authorities on request.
- HM Treasury v Information Commissioner
- Publication schemes must be approved by the information
commissioner (s.19)
- Govt is reluctant to leave the last word to the information commissioner,
arguing that it would be 'profoundly undemocratic' to permit the
commisioner to have the final say.
- EXECUTIVE OVERRIDE
- 2007; used to prevent the
publication of two cabinet
meetings in March 2003
(iraq war).
- 2011-12; Letters of
Prince Charles to govt.
departments
- Protected as
confidential by
convention.
(BRAZIER)
- Or to be disclosed in
public interest? ( Tomkins)