“where a Constitution cannot

be produced in a visible form,

Thomas Paine
there is none.”
The Constitution of

Great
Rollyn Angelie B. Oso
PEARL SANTILLANA
CHRISTIAN PAUL AGUIRRE
 BASIC INFORMATION
• Citizen: British or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits
• Nationality: British, English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, or Irish
• Capital: London
• Languages: Main: English
⚬ Minority: Scots, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Ulster Scots,
Angloromani, Beurla Reagaird, Shelta
• Latest Aggregated Population: 67,736,802 people
• Land area: 243,610 square kilometres (94,060 sq mi.)
• Religion: Official: Christianity
⚬ Denominations: Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Methodist.
⚬ Other Main Religions: Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism.
• Currency: The pound sterling, or GBP
 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

• The Romans arrived in Britain in 43 CE and colonized

England and Wales.
• Anglo-Saxon Period (410-1066)
• Norman Conquest (1066)
⚬ Feudal System
• Angevin or Plantagenet Period (1154-1485)
⚬ Magna Carta (1215)
⚬ Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)
 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
• Tudor Period (1485-1603)
⚬ Wars of the Roses (1455-1487)
• Stuart Period (1603-1714)
⚬ Union of Crowns (1603)
⚬ English Civil War (1642-1651)
⚬ Restoration (1660)
• Hanoverian Period (1714-1901)
⚬ Act of Union 1707
⚬ Act of Union 1800
• Northern Ireland was added in 1921
 BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

• During the 19th century the UK was a major world power with
the largest navy and the largest Empire the world had ever
seen.
⚬ This period of British history brought great wealth and
influence to the country and the legacy it left behind is still
seen today.
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH CONSTITUTION

• Conventions
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH CONSTITUTION
• Charters
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH CONSTITUTION
• Statues
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH CONSTITUTION
• Judicial Decisions

• Eminent Works
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH CONSTITUTION
• Common Law
 SALIENT FEATURES
• Partly written, partly unwritten
• Evolutionary
• Theory VS. Practice
• In theory, the King is the source of all power.

• In practice, the King reigns but does not rule; a mere

figurehead.
 SALIENT FEATURES
• Parliamentary Sovereignty
• The British Parliament is both the lawmaking body and constituent
authority.
• Legally, it is supreme and sovereign.
• Unitary Constitution
• All power is concentrated in a single Government centered in London.
• Flexible Constitution
• No difference between between the procedure for a constitutional law
and that of an ordinary law.
• Rule of Law
 SALIENT FEATURES
• Parliamentary Form of Government
• King is the nominal head of the State while the Prime Minister is the head of
the Government.
• Separation of Powers
• Crown = Executive (King, Prime Minister, Cabinet)
• Parliament – Legislative (House of Commons and House of Lords)
• Courts = Judiciary
• Blend of Monarchy, Aristocracy and Democracy
 SALIENT FEATURES
• Bicameral Legislature