An Introduction To Public Law

The United Kingdom is one of those rare democracies that have enjoyed almost one thousand years of unbroken and continuous constitutional development. Only Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate 1649 - 1660 which preceded the civil war marked the only major change in the status quo of the constitutional order. Having experienced 11 years of harsh military rule, the people of the United Kingdom yearned for the return of the monarchy. Alas, the next few monarchs were not very popular, and the ages old rivalry between the King who believed they should be still be allowed to make law by proclamation see Case of proclamations 1611 or Ship Money 1637 and Parliament came to a head when James 11 fled the United Kingdom for safer shores. It was parliament who invited William and Mary from the House of Orange in the Netherlands to accept the throne, with one proviso, if they accepted the throne; they did so with the express understanding that it was Parliament, and not The King who would be responsible for the creation of new laws. The Glorious revolution as it was called, was given the name, because unlike the previous civil war, it was bloodless, and actually put the United Kingdom on a modern parliamentary footing. Thus from 1689, Parliament truly became the dominant force in the United Kingdom. A.V. Dicey a 19th century constitutional writer and Oxford scholar, and one of the founders of the new London University, wrote in his seminal book " An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885)," about the doctrine of the sovereignty of parliament. For law students this is probably the most important concept in understanding how the constitution works. According to the doctrine; 1. Parliament can make or unmake any law as it sees fit. 2. Speaking legally, there is no limit, at least within the UK, to the legislative capability of the UK parliament, as Sir Ivor Jennings famously wrote in 1959" the British Parliament Could legally ban smoking on the streets of Paris, or legally turn a Man into a woman. The very nature of the UK`s unwritten constitution means that unlike most modern states that can limit in law what their parliament can do, no such legal limitation exists in the UK. 3. No one, not any court person or body can question the validity of an Act of Parliament. For students, Dicey's three rules cut like a knife throughout the whole syllabus. In studying Public/Constitutional law, students should not dwell too long on the historical oddities of the UK constitution, what is important to them in terms of passing the exam, is to be able to explain how it all works, by using cases, Acts of Parliament, or through custom and convention. Take a look at the Bill of Rights 1689; what you will discover is that Parliament through this act laid the foundations for many new states written constitutions, and Bill of Rights that were to emerge from many nations seeking to address the imbalance between the state, and the people.

This was a small exert from material used in the first lecture given to students as an introduction to the LLB.

Written by tutor.