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Constitutional Law — University of Cambridge notes | caselaw

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Constitutional Law

Constitutional Law on the University of Cambridge Law Tripos (Part IA). The constitutional relationship between the citizen, Parliament, the executive and the courts — and the grounds on which government action can be challenged.

Sources and nature of the constitution

The United Kingdom constitution is dispersed, historical, political, and increasingly juridified.

Theories of parliamentary sovereignty

Parliamentary sovereignty remains the organising doctrine, but its foundations and limits are contested.

Constitutional statutes and implied repeal (Thoburn)

Thoburn converts implied repeal from an automatic rule into a constitutional question of statutory status.

The rule of law — Bingham and after

Bingham’s elegant formulation has become the organising grammar of legality in modern public law.

Separation of powers

The British constitution separates powers by law, convention, institutional design and judicial review.

Royal prerogative and Miller (Nos 1 and 2)

Prerogative power is legal power, bounded by statute, rights, accountability, and judicial principle.

Devolution and the Sewel Convention

Sewel exposes the political limits of legal sovereignty in the territorial constitution.

Human Rights Act 1998 — sections 3 and 4

The HRA preserves legal sovereignty while making judicial rights reasoning constitutionally unavoidable.

Common law constitutional rights

Common law rights are constitutional constraints, not merely residual liberties, but their foundations remain contested.

Constitutional conventions

Conventions are constitutional rules whose force is political, not judicial, but rarely insignificant.

Freedom of expression and assembly

Expression and assembly test the constitution’s willingness to protect dissent against public order.

The changing constitution and reform

Reform has modernised the constitution without settling its deeper argument about authority.

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