...NONE, ONE OR SEVERAL? PERSPECTIVES ON THE UK’S CONSTITUTION(S) DAVID FELDMAN* An inaugural lecture is the occasion when the University of Cambridge can look its gift horse in the mouth, weighing the new professor in the balance against his or her distinguished predecessors. The Rouse Ball Professorship of English Law has been held in the past by a long series of distinguished scholars, from Sir Percy Winfield to my immediate predecessor, Sir Jack Beatson whom we are delighted to welcome back today. Their work has influenced generations of lawyers. They certainly influenced me. Before I encountered Criminal Law: The General Part,1 a great little volume by Professor Glanville Williams, Learning the Law, was my ‘Guide, Philosopher and Friend’ (as it still says on the cover of the latest edition, now edited by my colleague Professor Tony Smith)2 as I approached the study of law. Another Rouse Ball Professor, the late Sir William Wade, had a formative effect on my understanding of land law and administrative law both through his famous books, Megarry and Wade on the Law of Real Property (now edited by a former Fellow of Downing College, Dr. Charles Harpum)3 and Administrative Law (now in the hands of my colleague Dr. Christopher Forsyth),4 not to mention the lectures that I attended as an undergraduate in (softly be it said) the University of Oxford. Two wonderfully stimulating and enjoyable books by the Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor and * Rouse Ball Professor of English Law in...
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...constitution was made at the constitutional convention, which formulated many different compromises such as The Great Compromise, and the Three-Fifths compromise. Some people believed that the Constitution should be ratified, and some people thought it should not be, these people became known as federalists and antifederalists. While the articles of confederation created the first form of government for the states, it had many flaws. Some of these were resolved at the Constitutional Convention by creating many compromises, but people known as anti-federalists still thought that the constitution should not be ratified. This was solved by...
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...Constitution. Writing 51 essays in total, Hamilton completed the bulk of the work.” His collaboration with James Madison and John Jay on these influential essays not only articulated the benefits of a robust federal system but also convinced many skeptical individuals of the necessity for a united nation. In the article “Alexander Hamilton,” it discusses how, “Seeking to provide lasting financial stability for the new nation, Hamilton argued for the importance of a national banking system and the federal government’s assumption of state debt.” Hamilton’s economic policies, such as the establishment of the Bank of the United States, attracted support from those who foresaw the economic stability it promised. Moreover, his role in negotiating the Compromise of 1790, wherein the federal government assured states debts, not only quelled...
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...colonists needed a government so no one could take away their power.The Articles of Confederation were very weak and under them the new country was vulnerable and the states all were doing their own thing. During the Constitutional Convention, many compromises were made to make everyone in small and large states happy. Federalists wrote the Federalists Papers to gain support from the public. Anti- Federalists refused to sign things and protested the Constitution. To overcome the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation the newly formed United States...
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...Alexander hamilton was a founding father who made many contributions to our country from establishing a national bank, writing 51 of the federalist papers, and speaking at the constitutional convention for 6 hours. These are just a few things he has done that have been recorded in history. Out of the many things he has accomplished these are three things that stood out to me. In february 1791, Alexander Hamilton established a national bank. When he first proposed his idea to do this it was not approved by the constitution. Alexander’s idea to establish a national bank caused an argument between Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. Thomas Jefferson did not believe establishing a national bank was constitutional. Eventually Alexander Hamilton...
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...codification of conventions and prerogative powers would make the British constitution more effective. Conventions and royal prerogative powers are fundamental elements within the British constitution; promoting the flexibility the constitution is renowned for. I believe that the codification of these elements would be detrimental to the effectiveness of our constitution as it would remove its flexibility and interfere with parliamentary sovereignty. Jennings described conventions as “the flesh which clothes the dry bones of the law…they keep in touch with the growth of ideas[1]” which supports the idea that conventions exist to complement the law, not to compete with it. The fear with codification of conventions is that their new found rigidity would interfere with parliamentary sovereignty. For example, the checks which have to be completed before the American constitution can be amended have resulted in only 26 changes being made since 1787. In contrast, the uncodified nature of the British constitution allows parliament to change or repeal any law they wish. This has been demonstrated in the case of Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke[2], where the British Government was able to introduce the South Rhodesia Act 1965, even though there was a convention that they should let the government of Rhodesia legislate themselves. A consequence of codifying conventions and prerogative powers could be removing this sovereign status of parliament as it may be harder to breach conventions if they...
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...to seven delegates from each state; each state had one vote, according to its size or population. No executive or judicial branches were provided for. Congress was charged with responsibility for conducting foreign relations, declaring war or peace, maintaining an army and navy, settling boundary disputes, establishing and maintaining a postal service, and various lesser functions. Some of these responsibilities were shared with the states, and in one way or another Congress was dependent upon the cooperation of the states for carrying out any of them. Four visible weaknesses of the articles, apart from those of organization, made it impossible for Congress to execute its constitutional duties. These were analyzed in numbers 15-22 of The FEDERALIST, the political essays in which Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay argued the case for the U.S. CONSTITUTION of 1787. The first weakness was...
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...his 1785 essay "Considerations on the Bank of North America" Wilson argued that even under the Articles of confederation for many purposes the United States are to be considered as one United independent nation. In this essay he purposes that congress possessed a wide range of powers including the power to charter a national...
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...Amendment Essay Twenty-seven amendments have been ratified since the original signing of the Constitution, the first ten of which are known as the Bill of Rights. The Amendments to the United States Constitution have had a major effect on American life. A major feature of the Constitution is the capability of changing the document in order for it to become accustomed to the changing times and conditions. There are a few methods in order to change the Constitution. An amendment proposed by 2/3rds vote in each house of congress could be approved by either one of two ways. It must be either ratified by 3/4ths of the State Legislature or by the Constitutional Conventions in 3/4ths of the states. To approve an amendment proposed at a National Constitutional Convention it must also be ratified by 3/4ths of the State Legislatures or by a Constitutional Convention in 3/4ths of the States. The First Amendment, freedoms, is one of the most known and the most important of all. A historical event that led to this amendment was that the new American settlers brought with them a desire for democracy and openness after the American Revolution. They left behind a history of tyranny and official control of information. Using this experience as their guide, the constitutional fathers wrote into their new Constitution a Bill of Rights, which contained the First Amendment. This Amendment was created so that the people would have the freedom to express themselves without worrying. Disagreement to...
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...would require as how the US is, however draws from several different sources such as; statutes laws, common law, conventions, EU laws, authoritative documents etc. Statute law, is a written law passed down by parliament for example the human rights act of 1998 which brought the European convention on human rights into British law, conventions is another source of the British constitution, they are unwritten laws considered binding on members of the political community for example the Salisbury convention which made sure that the house of lords does not obstruct proposals contained in the governments most recent manifesto. Has the British constitution become increasingly codified? Its not the case that the British constitution is being written in a single document but in fact that more of the constitution is being written down as there is increasingly more written statutes that have great constitutional impacts as they are passed by parliament making them more rigid therefore harder to change as parliament has ultimate sovereignty, however you could say the EU laws are exempt from this, the significant examples of statute law with great constitutional impacts are such as the The Human Rights Act [1998]which was put in place under Tony Blair, the Human Rights Act enshrined into constitutional law basic human rights that appear as articles of the European Convention of Human Rights, However does allow for changes to be made by the government to these terms. The Act's terms...
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...Confederation and Constitution United States History Professor: 9/30/12 The Articles of Confederation were a great start to shaping and unifying our country, but it was just that, a “start”. It needed to take the country as a whole into consideration in order for it to hold this unity in place. The Articles of Confederation led to the Constitution of the United States. Although similar in some aspects, very different in others. The articles had many weaknesses that were changed in the Constitution. There were many compromises made between the states in order to effectively draft the Constitution. Roger Sherman’s Plan kept the Constitutional Convention together which was later known as the Great Compromise. The fight for the Constitution had just begun and the ratification processes needed to take place. Even with some states being in favor of the Constitution it would take time to get the nine states needed to complete this process. The states in favor would called themselves The Federalist and those opposed were called the Anti-Federalist. The Federalist set out to change the mind of the remaining states with a series of letters that were written to newspapers. The Articles of Confederation were used as a base for the Constitution. The ideas from the Articles of Confederation were used in the writing of the Constitution. Both the Articles and the Constitution established “federal” systems of multiple sovereigns whose continued existence was constitutionally...
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...had had for a while. His illness did not stop him though. He went on to marry Dolley Payne Todd in 1794 where they raised a son. Before and during the Revolutionary War in 1775, James Madison had many accomplishments. Though there are no specific dates, he served on the Orange County Committee of Safety, and then in 1776 went on to serve in the Virginia Convention, and was there to help frame the Virginia Constitution. This deemed Virginia as an independent state. He was chosen to represent Virginia in the Continental Congress in 1780 to 1783 and also in 1786 to 1788. While he was in the Continental Congress for the second,...
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...Morgan McCarty Social Studies 3/28/18 Conflict Essay An enduring issue is a problem that exists over time that people must deal with in order to survive. An example, of an enduring issue, is conflict. Conflict is defined as is the result of competing desires or the presence of obstacles that need to be overcome: or a disagreement between two or more parties. Conflict is a huge part of life, it is something that has been going on for centuries. In 1770 there was a fight between colonists and British soldiers. During the Constitutional Convention, 1787, disagreement spread amongst the delegates. In 1791 anger and violence broke out. So from 1770- 1791, there were three major disputes, although not all physical. The conflict...
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...the arch of the British Constitution’. It is, indeed, an extremely significant part of our culture and history, as well as being central to our system of Government. It will therefore be necessary to begin any discussion of the constitutional issues involved in its abolition by outlining the current functions of the head of state in Britain. As ‘a state without a monarch is a republic’, it will then be necessary to consider the constitutional issues which would be implicit in giving effect to such a republic. These issues will include decisions as to the type of president we would have, how they would be selected, and the scope and extent of powers they would possess. This discussion is not intended to be one of the relative merits of a monarchy versus a republic: indeed, the decision to abolish the monarchy has already been made. Rather, it is an attempt to answer the question of how this central feature of our constitution could be replaced. In answering this question, I will look to a possible alternative, namely an elected president, and determine whether, and on what basis they could take over the functions of the monarch. Other constitutional issues regarding the selection of such a President must then be considered, along with other constitutional issues arising in this context. As a preliminary issue, it should be noted that in this hypothetical situation, it is Prince Charles, or rather King Charles III, who is on the throne. The Queen’s reign has ended and the...
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...concepts have not kept pace. In the words of an author of the book reviewed here, reflecting on the concept of ‘the state’ and the problem of sovereignty: in political as in constitutional legal theory, we still need to cut off the King’s head,1 as we are still entrenched in the philosophical and constitutional language of the 19th century.2 But recently, with European integration and globalisation, change has also occurred in the traditional concepts of public law such as “state” or “constitution”. The book edited by Bamforth and Leyland is about this change over the last thirty years or so.3 “Public Law in a Multi-Layered Constitution” is a significant contribution to a better understanding of how public law is transformed, in Great Britain and elsewhere. The title of the book as well as its introduction (pp. 1-26) state that its central theme is the transformation of the British constitution into a “multi-layered constitution.” This is meant to refer to a constitution that “contains multiple, but inter-connected and sometimes overlapping European and national layers”,4 where “power (both legislative and political) has been spread away from the Westminister Parliament, both ‘upwards’ to the European Union and ‘downwards’ to the devolved assemblies.”5 The editors’ claim is that this restructuring of the constitutional architecture of the United Kingdom is occurring while there is also a rebalancing of the roles of the courts and parliament in holding the executive accountable, an alteration...
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