Chapter 3 Self-test questions

Which of the following can be described as a means of ensuring the government is held accountable? Select all that apply.

Judicial review

Life tenure

Parliamentary scrutiny

Elections

Political constitutionalists argue that we should rely upon the political, rather than the legal, process as the principal constraint upon the Government.

True

False

The debate about whether legal constitutionalism or political constitutionalism is to be preferred is largely a normative one. Which system most accurately describes the UK constitution?

Legal constitutionalism

Political constitutionalism

Both legal and political processes are at play in our constitution in different contexts.

Which of the following can be described as one of the main sources of the UK constitution? Select all that apply.

Legal rules

Conventions

Fundamental principles

Parliamentary debates

Which of the following statements accurately describes the rule advanced by Laws LJ in the case of Thoburn v Sunderland City Council?

There is a special category of constitutional legislation which cannot be repealed or amended.

There is a special category of constitutional legislation which is harder to repeal or amend than ordinary legislation.

There is no difference between constitutional legislation and ordinary legislation.

There is a special category of constitutional legislation which cannot be passed without a 'supermajority' in Parliament.

Which of the following questions form part of the Jennings test? Select all that apply.

What are the precedents?

Did the actors in the precedents believe that they were bound by a rule?

Is there a reason for the rule?

Is the rule recorded in written form?

Which of the following statements about constitutional conventions are true? Select all that apply.

Conventions are fully legally enforceable in every situation.

Conventions may be relevant to answering legal questions, for example discerning whether, under freedom of information legislation as in the Evans case, an action is in the public interest.

Conventions are legally enforceable once they pass the Jennings test.

Conventions are politically important.

Which of the following are established constitutional conventions in the UK? Select all that apply.

(a) The House of Lords will not delay bills for more than a single year.

(b) The Monarch will not refuse royal assent to a bill that has otherwise completed its proper passage.

(c) Judges will sever their formal party-political ties upon their appointment.

(d) The central UK government will not normally legislate in areas reserved for the devolved institutions without their prior consent.

Which of the following principles does parliamentary sovereignty protect?

Democracy

Freedom

Nationalism

Human Rights

The notion of a separation of powers gives expression to the underlying principle of responsible government.

True

False

What drove the abolition of the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords and its replacement with the Supreme Court in 2009?

A desire to curb Parliamentary sovereignty

A need to appoint new judges

A desire to see a greater separation of powers in practice

A desire to increase the power of judges

The bare principle of legality holds that for laws to be valid, they must be passed through valid channels.

True

False

Which of the following functions can be regarded as orthodox features of the formal conception of the rule of law?

The law must be clear.

The law must be understandable.

The law must respect human dignity.

The law must align with international law norms.

A substantive conception of the rule of law can be utilised by the courts only through the use of the Human Rights Act.

True

False

The Human Rights Act gives teeth to many rule of law values, both formal and substantive. Importantly, it provides courts with an additional power; if it finds primary legislation to be incompatible with Convention rights, it can issue a _________ under s4 of the Act.

Why does UK constitution remain uncodified? Select all that apply.

A codified constitution would be illegal.

Codified constitutions often emerge after significant conflict or societal re-structuring, to which the UK has not been subject for centuries.

Codified constitutions cannot exist without providing the courts with a strike-down power, which has not been desired.

There is no current evidence of a clear public appetite for a codified constitution.

It usually follows that a codified constitution is also an entrenched one.

True

False

Which problems might be encountered if an attempt was made to codify the UK constitution in the future? Select all that apply.

Identifying which conventions and principles should be included

Deciding how enforceable conventions and principles ought to be in practice

Achieving a supermajority in Parliament to make the required constitutional changes

Deciding how detailed each convention or principle ought to be, and how much to leave open to judges

It is uncontentious that a written, codified constitution would be a good thing.

True

False

'Brexit' has ensured that a written, codified constitution is now an inevitability.

True

False

Quiz Content