‘The differences between the UK and US constitutions are ove

‘A constitution can be defined as the system of laws, customs and conventions which defines the composition and powers of organs of the state, and regulates the relations of the various state organs to one another and to the private citizen. In short, it stipulates the structures and powers of government and between government and the citizen’ (Jones et al. 1994, 279).

Both the United States and the United Kingdom have constitutions but ‘expressed in purely formal terms, there is very little similarities between them’ (Norton 1984, 59). This essay will discuss whether the differences between the two constitutions are overstated, and whether both constitutions create a similar political system. To do this, the essay begins with a description of the British constitution and the political system it creates, followed by a description of the American constitution and the political system which that creates. It goes onto discuss the similarities and differences between the two constitutions and political systems and concludes by stating whether the differences are oversta

The significance of these differences are firstly, America’s federal constitution disperses government power both between the states and the national government, and between the different branches of government, with the President, Congress and the Supreme Court all sharing power. In contrast to this Britain’s unitary constitution centralises power both in the Westminster Parliament in London, with local authorities being clearly subordinate to the national government, and in the Executive, which dominates the Legislative, allowing the Party that controls parliament to make or unmake any law. Secondly, America’s constitution is codified in a single written document and inflexible as it is difficult to amend, requiring super-normal majorities both to propose and to ratify constitutional amendments, whereas Britain’s constitution is un-codified, and although much of it is written down it is not codified in a single document, and it is flexible as there is no special category of constitution law and so can be amended by ordinary legislation.

As it isn’t written in a single document the British constitution derives from five major sources, these are, firstly, Statute Law, which is the main source of the part written element of the constitution, and comprises of Acts of Parliament and subordinate legislation, this is the most important of the five sources and has increasingly displaced Common Law as the most extensive form of law in Britain. Secondly there is Common Law, which comprises of legal principles developed and applied by the courts, which have grown up as accepted over the years. Thirdly there are Conventions, which are the least tangible source of the constitution and constitute ‘rules of behaviour that are considered binding by and upon those who operate the constitution but which are not enforced by the courts or by the presiding officers in the Houses of Parliament’ (Jones et al. 1994, 281). The fourth source are The Laws and Customs of Parliament, these are the rules relating to the functions, procedures, privileges and immunities of each House of Parliament, and finally there are the Works of Authority, due to the constitutions partly written and un-codified character, constitutional experts and works of authority, such as Walter Bagehot’s The English Constitution in 1967 and Edward Dicey’s The Law of the Constitution in 1885 have occasionally been consulted for guidance on the British constitution.

This Parliamentary Sovereignty is the dominating characteristic of the British constitution, however since Britain’s involvement in the European Union, this sovereignty has been impaired as EU law is supreme, with British courts giving it precedence over national UK law where the two conflict.

The second of the two pillars is the principle of The Rule of Law, and although it is difficult to define precisely, it is significant for

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