Constitutional
Law
British Constitution
ì Britain
or The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a
collection of states.
ì It
comprises of: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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| British Map |
The Three Eras of British History
For
ease of understanding, let us divide British history into three distinct
stages:
§ The
Pre Civil War Era
§ The
Civil War Era
§ The
Post Civil War Era
Each
era has had a profound effect on the legal development of the UK.
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| British Personnel |
Pre Civil War Era
ì For
most of its history – the land that formed the United Kingdom has been subject
to countless invasions.
ì 1500
BC – Celtic tribes from Mainland Europe came to the areas of
modern-day England & Wales and mixed with indigenous inhabitants.
ì Then
came the Romans under Julius Caesar in 54-55 BC. They conquered
the area and founded some of the most iconic cities today: London, Bath,
Exeter, Lincoln, Manchester, Colchester, Leicester etc.
The Anglo-Saxon Invitation
ì During
the 5th Century – the Roman Empire was falling from grace so
they abandoned Roman Britain to protect Rome.
ì The
Celts – they began fighting amongst each other.
ì One
of the tribes had the (foolish) idea to invite the Germanic tribes
(Angles, Saxons and Jutes) for help.
ì An
invitation was sent.
An Invitation Accepted
ì 5th
– 6th Century – the Germanic tribes decided to accept the
invitation and arrived in Britain.
ì After
the fighting stopped, the tribe that invited them thought that they would
leave. That did not happen.
ì Instead,
they decided they wanted to rule.
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| Britain During Anglo Saxon Era |
Formation of the Heptarchy
ì The
Anglo-Saxon tribes pushed the Celts into Wales and Cornwall.
ì They
set up 7 kingdoms: Kent (the Jutes), Essex, Sussex
and Wessex (the Saxons) and Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria
(the Angles).
ì These
seven kingdoms were known as the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy and ruled the
area from 6th Century to the middle of the 9th Century.
Governance during the Anglo-Saxons
ì Folkmoots
(also called a ‘thing’) was an assembly of free people of the community.
ì It
was presided over by a ‘lawspeaker’, who recited all the laws and rules.
ì Participants
of the folkmoot legislated, resolved disputes, and helped elect Chiefs and
Kings of the society. No concept of an ‘absolute monarchy’ yet.
ì They
are considered a precursor to the modern Parliament of the United Kingdom.
WITENAGEMOT (WITAN)
ì It
means ‘meeting of the wise men’.
ì It
was a political institution, comprising of an assembly of various people of
importance: noblemen, landlords, religious figures.
ì Their
function was to advise the King on certain affairs: taxation,
jurisprudence, internal and external security.
Unification of England
ì 9th
Century – the Danes (people from Denmark) began conquering swathes of
Western Europe.
ì 10th
– 11th Century – the Danes invaded Northeast of England and created
a new kingdom, named Danelaw.
ì The
other kingdoms resisted a complete Danish take over.
ì Finally,
with one last push, the Danish King, ‘Canute the Great’ finally
conquered England.
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| the Danes(People from Denmark) |
A fight for Kingship
ì After
Canute, came his two sons, and after that, came Edward the Confessor.
ì Edward
was childless and nominated his second cousin, William, the Duke of
Normandy to become his successor.
ì But
instead, Harold Godswin, the Earl of Wessex crowned himself king.
ì William
led an army of 12,000 men into the English mainland to fight for the throne.
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| Symbol Of British Crown |
The Battle of Hastings
ì William
and his men succeeded – with brute force and superior tactics.
ì Harold
was killed – as legend has it, with an arrow shot through his eye!
ì Harold’s
grandmother offered her grandson’s weight in gold, for custody of his body.
William refused, and had the body thrown into the sea.
ì William
sat on the throne and was crowned as William I of England.
ì To
this day, the royal family of England are all descended from William I (also
known as William the Conqueror).
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| Battle Of Hastings |
A broken brotherhood
ì William
the Conqueror’s lands were divided between his sons:
§
Robert got Normandy.
§
William II got England.
§
Henry I got nothing.
ì William
II was despised – addicted to every vice, lacking in social manners etc.
ì William
II died in a hunting “accident” in 1100. His death is disputed. Many say he
was killed by his own men, in a plot hatched by the younger brother.
ì Henry
I immediately went to secure the Royal Treasury, and was quickly crowned the
King.
Henry I – the Charter of Liberties
ì Many
of the nobles did not like William II – and Henry I decided to pacify them.
ì He
began reigning through the CURIA REGIS.
ì He
granted the ‘Charter of Liberties’ – a series of assurances to the
barons.
ì The
most important line: "that by the mercy of God and the common
counsel of the barons of the whole kingdom of England I have been crowned king
of said kingdom".
ì Why?
It is a step away from absolute rule.
Constitutional developments
ì From
Henry I till the Civil War – there have been multiple battles and conspiracies
to see who would assume the throne.
ì Plus
– in between these struggles of power – there has been a constant struggle
for democratization – leading to major constitutional developments.
ì We
will now study a few of these developments.
King John and the Magna Carta
ì King
John (1167 to 1216).
ì His
rule was marked by many tensions – conflict between England &
France, England & the Pope and between the King and the barons (mostly due
to taxation).
ì A
group of the barons rebelled – disavowing their oaths of allegiance and
rallying under a new leader.
ì At
last, they ended up conquering the city of London, bringing King John to the
negotiation table.
ì The
result of this negotiation was the famous Magna Carta (meaning, the Great
Charter).
ì It
made a number of assurances:
§ All
free men shall have the right of justice and the right to a fair trial.
§ No
taxes can be demanded by the King without the ‘general consent of the realm’
(meaning, the noblemen and the high clergy).
§ Church
rights will be protected.
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| King John (1167 to 1216) |
The Civil War
ì During
the Tudor period (1485 to 1603) England reverted back to the idea of
absolute monarchy.
ì This
absolutism was carried forward by the two Stuart Kings – James I and Charles I.
ì They
all believes in the ‘Divine Right of Kings’
ì However,
Parliament was not happy about this at all!
ì Parliament
raised a single slogan: “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION”.
ì It
caught on and violence ensued. This was the Civil War.
ì In
the end, Parliament won and Charles I was beheaded.
The Commonwealth of England
ì After
Charles I was executed – Oliver Cromwell took control of England and styled it
as ‘the Commonwealth’.
ì He
disbanded the Parliament and became the Lord Protector and ruled
the country almost dictatorially.
ì He
died of an illness and his son, Richard Cromwell gained control.
Restoration of Monarchy
ì Richard
Cromwell failed to uphold the Commonwealth.
ì He
was overthrown and the Parliament was re-established.
ì It
began the Restoration of the Monarchy and handed the reinstated Charles II as
King.
Post-Civil War developments
ì Charles
II was succeeded by James II.
ì Once
again, Parliament had problems with him and quickly passed the ‘Bill of
Rights 1689’
ì Major
provisions:
§ The
Monarch cannot dispense/suspend laws without permission from Parliament.
§ Freedom
of speech in Parliamentary proceedings.
§ No
Standing Army in times of peace.
§ No
levying taxes without Parliamentary permission.
What has happened so far?
ì The
powers of the Monarchy have been stripped away.
ì The
powers of the Parliament have gradually increased.
ì England
has become – a constitutional monarchy!
Further developments
ì Act
of Settlement 1701
ì Established
the independence of the judiciary.
ì It
stated that a judge could only be removed after approval from both Houses of
Parliament and the Monarch.
Acts of Union
ì Over
the years, England signed two Acts of Union – one in 1700 with Scotland and one
in 1800 with Ireland.
ì Thus,
the UNITED KINGDOM was formed.
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| United Kingdom Map |
