22. Policing—Powers, Accountability, and Governance

This chapter is concerned with three key constitutional issues relating to policing. First, it considers the extent and limits of the powers of the police—and, correlatively, the relevant rights of individuals. Second, it examines the arrangements for overseeing the police and holding it to account. Third, it addresses police governance, including the recent introduction of Police and Crime Commissioners and the balance between political direction and police independence.

19. Human Rights and The UK Constitution

This chapter examines human rights protection in the UK. It examines the reasons why the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) was enacted, the effects of the HRA, the principal mechanisms through which the HRA affords protection to human rights in UK law; the scope of the HRA; and the debate concerning the potential repeal, reform, or replacement of the HRA. The chapter also introduces the notion of human rights, including the practical and philosophical cases for their legal protection, and the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the HRA gives effect in UK law.

9. The European Union and Brexit

This chapter focuses on the constitutional implications of the UK’s membership of the European Union and the constitutional implications of its exit from the EU (or ‘Brexit’). The chapter examines how EU law was accommodated within the UK legal system during the period of the UK’s membership of the EU, and in particular considers the consequences of the primacy of EU law for the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. The chapter also considers the extent to which lessons learned about the UK constitution as a result of EU membership will remain relevant now that the UK has left the EU.

20. Freedom of Expression

This chapter examines the nature of free speech, first addressing the question of why free speech must be protected. It then discusses Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), media freedom, defamation, criminal offences, privacy, and official secrecy.

8. Devolution and The Territorial Constitution

This chapter focuses on the UK’s territorial constitution, that is, the governance arrangements that result in power being dispersed rather than concentrated in a single set of national institutions. Devolution involved creating new governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, and investing them with powers that were previously exercised at a UK level. Devolution in the UK is therefore intended to be part of the answer to questions that must be confronted in all political systems: where should governmental power lie? And at what level should laws be enacted and the business of government transacted? Local government plays a key role in decision-making, policy formulation, and the delivery of public services across a wide range of areas, including education, housing, personal social services, transport, and planning control.

4. Separation of Powers—An Introduction

This chapter explains the separation of powers doctrine, first describing the three branches of government: the legislative, judicial, and executive. It then discusses why separation of powers is needed, different conceptions of separation of powers, and separation of powers in the UK.

17. Tribunals

This chapter considers the role and constitutional status of tribunals that determine appeals against initial decisions made by government agencies. It also examines the place of tribunals within the UK’s public law system and the reorganisation of the tribunals into a new, integrated, and unified tribunals system brought about by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. An overview of the tribunals system, tribunal procedures, and judicial oversight of tribunal decision-making is also provided.

15. The Effectiveness and Impact of Judicial Review

This chapter examines the effectiveness and impact of judicial review in terms of the accessibility of judicial review, the competence and capacity of the courts to review administrative action, and the impact of judicial review on government. Access to judicial review is constrained in various ways. Legal costs, restrictions on legal aid, uneven access to legal advice and services, the variable operation by the court of the permission to proceed requirement, and delays within the court can all limit the accessibility and effectiveness of the judicial review procedure.

11. Parliamentary Scrutiny of Central Government

This chapter examines the accountability of the central government to Parliament. It addresses questions such as: what is Parliament’s proper role in scrutinising government? What does the constitutional convention of ministerial responsibility mean? And how does it operate in practice? The chapter also considers topics of particular importance to government accountability: freedom of information, accountability of the security and intelligence services, and financial accountability.

7. The Judiciary

This chapter, which focuses on the judiciary, discusses the structure of the judicial system, the role of the judiciary, and the characteristics of the judiciary.