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The constitution of the United Kingdom is the sum of laws and principles that make up the body politic of the United Kingdom. It concerns both the relationship between the individual and the state, and the functioning of the legislature, the executive and judiciary. Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single constitutional document. This is sometimes expressed by stating that it has an uncodified or "unwritten" constitution.〔H Barnett, ''Constitutional and Administrative Law'' (5th edn Cavendish 2005) 9, "A written constitution is one contained within a single document or a () series of documents, with or without amendments"〕 Much of the British constitution is embodied in written documents, within statutes, court judgments, works of authority and treaties. The constitution has other unwritten sources, including parliamentary constitutional conventions.〔See Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice, Cabinet Manual and Royal Prerogative in the United Kingdom〕 Since the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the bedrock of the legislative British constitution has been described as the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, according to which the statutes passed by Parliament are the UK's supreme and final source of law. It follows that Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament, but in some instances, courts have stated obiter (making it clear that they were not purporting to decide lateral issues) that it was content to assume that the following proposition was correct: ‘that Parliament can effectively tie the hands of its successors, if it passes a statute which provides that any future legislation on a specified subject shall be enacted only with certain specified consents’.〔Justice Megarry's judgment in the 1983 case of ''Manuel v Attorney General''.〕 There is some debate about whether the cardinal doctrine remains valid, particularly in light of the UK's membership in the European Union. ==History== In 2004, a Joint Committee of the House of Commons and the House of Lords discussed that "the fundamental parts of constitutional law could be taken to include the following statutes":〔(First Report of the Joint Committee on Draft Civil Contingencies Bill 28 November 2003 HL 184 HC 1074 para 183 )〕 * Magna Carta 1215 — ''clauses 1, 9, and 29, as enumerated in 1297, remain in statute; asserts the freedom of the English church, the liberties of the City of London among others, and establishes the right to due process'' * Bill of Rights 1689 — ''secures parliamentary supremacy over the monarch, the result of the Glorious Revolution'' * Crown and Parliament Recognition Act 1689 — ''confirms the succession to the throne and the validity of the laws passed by the Convention Parliament'' * Act of Settlement 1701 — ''settles the succession of the Crown'' * Acts of Union 1707 — ''union of England and Scotland'' * Act of Union 1800 — ''union of Great Britain and Ireland'' * Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 — ''asserts the supremacy of the House of Commons by limiting the legislation-blocking powers of the House of Lords'' * Life Peerages Act 1958 — ''establishes standards for the creation of life peers which gives the Prime Minister the ability to change the composition of the House of Lords'' * Emergency Powers Act 1964 — ''provides power to employ members of the armed forces in work of national importance'' * European Communities Act 1972 — ''incorporates European law into UK law'' * House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 — ''prohibits certain categories of people, such as judges, from becoming members of the House of Commons'' * Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975 — ''governs ministerial salaries'' * British Nationality Act 1981 — ''revises the basis of British nationality law'' * Senior Courts Act 1981 (originally Supreme Court Act 1981) — ''defines the structure of the Senior Courts (then called the Supreme Court) of England and Wales'' * Representation of the People Act 1983 — ''updates the British electoral process'' * Scotland Act 1998 — ''creates the Scottish Parliament and devolves certain powers to it'' * Government of Wales Act 1998 — ''creates the Welsh Assembly and devolves certain powers to it'' * Northern Ireland Act 1998 — ''creates the Northern Ireland Assembly and devolves certain powers to it'' * Human Rights Act 1998 — ''incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law'' * House of Lords Act 1999 — ''reforms the House of Lords removing most hereditary peers'' * Civil Contingencies Act 2004 — ''establishes a framework for national and local emergency planning and response'' Since then, the following statues of a constitutional nature have become law: * Constitutional Reform Act 2005 — ''creates the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and guarantees judicial independence'' * Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 — ''reforms the Royal Prerogative and makes other significant changes'' * Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 — '' introduces fixed-term parliaments of 5 years'' * Succession to the Crown Act 2013 — ''alters the laws of succession to the British throne'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Constitution of the United Kingdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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