Britain’s uncodified constitution (2) Second-Year Law – Class 5

Change regarding the remedial classes New schedule: Tuesdays at 10:55 in room 05 L2 and L3: even weeks (4, 6, 8, 10, 12). L3 and M1: odd weeks (5, 7, 9, 11, 13).

Questions on last week’s material Comprehension Check 1 B 2 C 3 4 5 A 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Past Reforms: Under the Labour government of Tony Blair (1997-2007) The Devolution Acts 1998: followed referendums in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; provided for 3 devolved legislatures and executives in these constituent nations. The Human Rights Act 1998: incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights (1951) into UK law; brought into effect in 2000. The House of Lords Act 1999: reformed the House of Lords removing most hereditary peers and decreasing the membership from 1,330 in October 1999 to 669 in March 2000. The Freedom of Information Act 2000: created a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities.

Past Reforms: Under the Labour government of Tony Blair (1997-2007) The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 aimed at more formally reflecting the principle of separation of powers in British institutions and also respecting the ECHR (Article 6 - right to a fair trial): - the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords was replaced by a UK Supreme Court, completely separated from Parliament (2009); - the Lord Chancellor’s role was redefined: (s)he used to be the Speaker of the House of Lords, a member of the cabinet, and the highest member of the judiciary in England and Wales. Since the Act, he has only been a member of the Cabinet (the Secretary of State for Justice), responsible for the efficient functioning and independence of the courts; - Supreme Court Justices are now selected by ad hoc committees, and judges are selected by an independent Judicial Appointments Commission, composed of legally qualified and lay people (the Queen used to appoint judges on the advice of the Lord Chancellor).

Past reforms: Under the Labour government of Gordon Brown (2007- 2010) The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010: - it enshrines in statute the impartiality and integrity of the UK Civil Service and the principle of open and fair recruitment; - it enshrines in law the Ponsonby Rule which requires that treaties are laid before Parliament before they can be ratified. The House of Commons can resolve against ratification and thus make it unlawful for the Government to ratify the treaty. The House of Lords is not able to prevent the Government from ratifying a treaty, but if they resolve against ratification the Government will have to produce a further explanatory statement explaining its belief that the agreement should be ratified.

Past reforms: Under the Coalition government of David Cameron (2010- 2016) The general election of 2010 resulted in the Conservatives, led by Cameron, winning the largest number of seats (306). This was, however, 20 seats short of an overall majority and resulted in the nation's first hung parliament since February 1974. Talks between Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg led to an agreed Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition. The Conservative – Lib Dem coalition agreed upon a large number of constitutional reforms. These include the 5-year Fixed Term Parliament Act, which was enacted. However, others were not put in place during that five years. These include changing the voting system for Westminster elections from First-Past-The-Post to Alternative Voting (here) , House of Lords reform to create an elected House, House of Commons reform to reduce the number of constituencies and redraw boundaries, and Local Government reform to enable citizens to directly elect mayors to run cities.

Proposed reforms under the Conservative government of Theresa May The Great Repeal Bill: the aim of the legislation will be to end the authority of EU law by converting all its provisions in British law on the day of exit from the bloc. At the same time, the 1972 European Communities Act giving direct effect to all EU law will be repealed. The legislation will end the jurisdiction of the European court of justice in the UK. The Human Rights Act: it would be repealed and replaced by a British Bill of Rights. Here The Guardian article (24 February 2017): Labour expected to consider possibility of federal UK. Here - increased devolution… up to federalism? - an elected federal Senate instead of the House of Lords

Discussion How would you reform the U.K. Constitution?

British Parliamentary Style Debate This House believes that the strengths of the UK Constitution outweigh its weaknesses. The Prime Minister The Leader of the Opposition The Deputy Prime Minister The Deputy Leader of the Opposition A Member of Government A Member of the Opposition The Government Whip The Opposition Whip

A few rules… The style of debate in the House has traditionally been one of cut-and-thrust; listening to other Members' speeches and intervening in them in spontaneous reaction to opponents' views. This style of debate can make the Commons Chamber a rather noisy place with robustly expressed opinion, many interventions, expressions of approval (hear, hear) or disapproval and, sometimes, of repartee and banter. Here Ultimately it is the Chair, The Speaker of the House of Commons, who controls the House and who speaks and when. Members have the right, when speaking, to be heard without unendurable background noise (deliberate or accidental) and the Chair will call for order if it appears there is an attempt to drown out a Member or when a number of Members are leaving the Chamber, or conversing loudly. My Right Honorable Friend / The Honorable Member / The Honourable Gentleman.

Voting When MPs vote on debates or legislation it is called a division. When MPs vote they say 'aye' or 'no'. In the Lords, Members vote saying 'content' or 'not content'. For major votes the House divides into the voting lobbies, two corridors that run either side of the chamber, and members are counted as they enter into each.

Grammar exercise 1. Oliver Cromwell was Lord Protector of England for four years, during the period 1653 – 1658. 2. In 1918, the Representation of the People’s Bill that received the Royal Assent, gave women over the age of 30 the right to vote. 3. Women had to wait for another ten years to vote on the same terms as men. 4. In 1928, the Equal Franchise Act gave all men and women over the age of 21, the right to vote. 5. During the period 1918-1928, men and women in Britain did not have the same voting rights. 6. The first Bill of Rights to reduce the power of the monarchy was passed in 1689, which is approximately 325 years ago. 7. Since the Great Reform Act of 1832, various constitutional reforms have been enacted in Britain. 8. Since 1972, the UK has acknowledged the supremacy of European Community over UK Law. 9. Even though the UK ratified the ECHR in 1951, the HRA was brought into effect only 13 years ago. 10. In 2007, the Labour Government began to consult on building on the HRA to create a British Bill of Rights and Duties.

Homework for next class The Monarchy Read the lesson (ps. 34-38) and learn the important words by heart. Prepare the Comprehension of the Facts exercises 1 and 3.