I’m mostly sure it’s actually a Big Pointy Tongue. I Am Not An Expert, however.
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“I’m afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that.” The UK does not have a single-document constitution on the American model. There are lots of documents, ranging from Acts of Parliament to letters to newspapers that record parts of the constitution. These are glued together with conventions, most of which are written down in various places, and emerged from customary practice.
The advantages of this kind of constitution include its ability to evolve over time - parts date back to before the European discovery of the Americas - and it not being subject to literalist interpretation. There have been several attempts to create a unified single-document constitution, but none gathered much support.
The most recent cases of the UK Supreme Court making constitutionally significant rulings that I recall off-hand both happened in 2019:
- The first ruled against the government in confirming the established principle that the executive, wielding the powers of the monarch, could not remove rights from the citizenry that Parliament had awarded them.
- The second ruled against the government in establishing that its ending of the parliamentary term for political purposes was both unlawful and void.
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Without wishing to derail or politicise this thread too much, whatever anyone thinks of what’s happening in the US it shows that ‘conventions’ are only any use if everyone abides by them, and if someone chooses not to, they may as well not exist.
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Completely human-proof systems seem unlikely to be constructed. If they were, they’d likely lack the flexibility necessary for the real world. I have more confidence in the UK system than the US one, because our judges are not politically appointed, not even to our Supreme Court.
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Out of interest how powerful is the us press?
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Not overtly politically appointed, anyway!
That certainly helps. Although the UK Supreme Court is not as hardwired into the constitution (such as it is) as the US one, having existed for less than twenty years, and so that difference isn’t as great as it would be if it applied to the US.
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Actually, like most interesting parts of the British military, the RAF is an offshoot from the Royal Engineers.
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If you try to buikd a system with no room for intervention you are betting you are smarter than every future lawyer.
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We’ve been again in Maine for the summer, so I can share some nice pictures! Been to some great places and want to share pictures of my two favorite ones. Acadia National Park and
the Two Lights State Park. Love these places!
This here is some rock looking like a tree.
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went to visit our favorite Winery across the Rhine. we hadn’t looked at the event calendar so we were a bit surprised there was a festival going on and the place was packed even beyond the usual sunny weather crowd. it was probably the last summer weekend.
Had some Schorle and Flammkuchen
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I studied Constitutional Law at Uni. It was bonkers
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The real reason the Welsh flag wasn’t included is because it was ‘absorbed’ into England when Edward Longshanks conquered it rather than the Union of England and Scotland (and later Ireland).
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Similarly why England-and-Wales is one legal system while Scotland and (Northern) Irelabd are distinct.
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Walked on the trail near my house until I saw this and diverted my route.
Then I saw this on my way back:
So much for the green mesh designed to prevent the pigs from doing exactly what they’re doing.
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Wow
Can confirm an absence of AT AT
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Mainly just kids running wild and occasionally stopping to eat too much sugar. The parents stand around the edge of the room, looking vaguely horrified for a couple of hours, trying to pretend it isn’t THEIR little precious thats rubbing sandwich filling on the walls…
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In a sudden moment of genius, I have realised that what every children’s party needs is an inflatable Baba Yaga’s Hut. With cannibalistic crone, of course.
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