Understanding the British constitution

Political Studies

Volumn 44, Issue 3, 1996, Pages 473-487

  Prosser, Tony ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0039926823     PISSN: 00323217     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.1996.tb00595.x     Document Type: Review

References (74)

1. I am grateful for comments on the draft of this essay to my colleagues John Tasiolas, Elspeth Attwooll, Hilary Hiram and Jim Murdoch, and also to the editors of this volume and other participants at the Workshop on 'The Constitution in Transformation' held at the University of East Anglia in September 1995.
2. See e.g. A. Barnett, C. Ellis and P. Hirst, Debating the Constitution (Oxford, Polity, 1992) and Institute for Public Policy Research, A Constitution for the United Kingdom (London, Institute for Public Policy Research, 1991).
3. See e.g. A. Barnett, C. Ellis and P. Hirst, Debating the Constitution (Oxford, Polity, 1992) and Institute for Public Policy Research, A Constitution for the United Kingdom (London, Institute for Public Policy Research, 1991).
4. See, e.g., T. Daintith, 'Political programmes and the content of the constitution' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 41-55 and I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents', British Journal of Political Science, 21 (1991), 489-510.
5. See, e.g., T. Daintith, 'Political programmes and the content of the constitution' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 41-55 and I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents', British Journal of Political Science, 21 (1991), 489-510.
6. J. Dearlove, 'Bringing the constitution back in: political science and the state', Political Studies, 37 (1989), 521-39.
7. Compare R. Bellamy, 'The constitution of Europe: rights or democracy?' in R. Bellamy, V. Bufacchi and D. Castiglione (eds), Democracy and Constitutional Culture in the Union of Europe (London, Lothian Foundation, 1995), pp. 153-75 and J. Waldron, 'A right-based critique of constitutional rights' Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 13 (1993), 18-51.
8. Compare R. Bellamy, 'The constitution of Europe: rights or democracy?' in R. Bellamy, V. Bufacchi and D. Castiglione (eds), Democracy and Constitutional Culture in the Union of Europe (London, Lothian Foundation, 1995), pp. 153-75 and J. Waldron, 'A right-based critique of constitutional rights' Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 13 (1993), 18-51.
9. See generally K. Dyson, The State Tradition in Western Europe (Oxford, Martin Robertson, 1980) and Dearlove, 'Bringing the constitution back in', pp. 522-3.
10. See generally K. Dyson, The State Tradition in Western Europe (Oxford, Martin Robertson, 1980) and Dearlove, 'Bringing the constitution back in', pp. 522-3.
11. Dyson, The State Tradition in Western Europe, p. 37.
12. Dyson, The State Tradition in Western Europe, p. 38.
13. Dyson, The State Tradition in Western Europe, p. 40.
14. Dyson, The State Tradition in Western Europe, pp. 40-1.
15. J. D. B. Mitchell, 'The causes and effects of the absence of a system of public law in the United Kingdom', Public Law, (1965), 95-118, p. 96.
16. Classic examples of fundamental critique of Dicey are Sir W. Ivor Jennings, The Law and the Constitution (1933) and I. Harden and N. Lewis, The Noble Lie: the British Constitution and the Rule of Law (London, Hutchinson, 1986).
17. Classic examples of fundamental critique of Dicey are Sir W. Ivor Jennings, The Law and the Constitution (1933) and I. Harden and N. Lewis, The Noble Lie: the British Constitution and the Rule of Law (London, Hutchinson, 1986).
18. For a fuller discussion of this issue see C. Graham and T. Prosser, 'Introduction: the constitution and the new Conservatives' in C. Graham and T. Prosser (eds), Waiving the Rules: the Constitution Under Thatcherism (Buckingham, Open University Press, 1988), pp. 1-21.
19. The position in Scotland has been different; as Lord President Cooper noted in a leading case, '[t]he principle of the unlimited sovereignty of Parliament is a distinctively English principle which has no counterpart in Scottish constitutional law'. MacCormick v. Lord Advocate 1953 S.C. 396, at 411.
20. A. Dicey, The Law of the Constitution (London, Macmillan, 8th ed., 1915), pp. 3-4.
21. Dicey, The Law of the Constitution, p. 115 (footnote omitted).
22. Dicey The Law of the Constitution, p. 114.
23. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie, ch. 9.
24. See N. MacCormick, 'The interests of the state and the rule of law' in P. Wallington and R. Merkin (eds), Essays in Memory of Professor F. H. Lawson (London, Butterworth, 1986), pp. 169-87.
25. Attorney-General v. Guardian Newspapers Ltd [1987] 1 W.L.R. 1248 at 1286-7.
26. Attorney-General v. Guardian Newspapers Ltd (No. 2) [1990] 1 A.C. 109.
27. Lord Griffiths at p. 269. See also on these issues Lord Advocate v. Scotsman Publications [1990] 1 A.C. 612.
28. At 1286 and 1306.
29. There is now a considerable literature on the 'Next Steps' programme; see for example P. Greer, Transforming Central Government: the Next Steps Initiative (Buckingham, Open University Press, 1994) and N. Lewis, 'Reviewing change in government; new public management and Next Steps', Public Law, (1994) 105-13.
30. There is now a considerable literature on the 'Next Steps' programme; see for example P. Greer, Transforming Central Government: the Next Steps Initiative (Buckingham, Open University Press, 1994) and N. Lewis, 'Reviewing change in government; new public management and Next Steps', Public Law, (1994) 105-13.
31. See T. Prosser, Nationalised Industries and Public Control (Oxford, Blackwell, 1986), chs 2-4.
32. HC 481, 1989-90, para. 15.
33. See I. Harden, The Contracting State (Buckingham, Open University Press, 1992), p. 82.
34. HC 494, 1987-8, paras 38, 46-7; Cm 524, p. 9.
35. HC 27, 1993-4, paras 163-7; Cm 2627, para. 2.29.
36. HC 27, 1993-4, para. 171.
37. Cm 2748, para. 24.
38. See Lewis, 'Reviewing change in government'.
39. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
40. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
41. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
42. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
43. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
44. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
45. See e.g. Harden and Lewis, The Noble Lie; I. Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'; N. Walker, 'The middle ground in public law' in W. Finnie, C. Himsworth and N. Walker (eds), Edinburgh Essays in Public Law (Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1991), pp. 57-95; R. Brazier, 'The non-legal constitution: thoughts on convention, practice and principle', Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 43 (1992), 262-87; Daintith, 'Political programmes and the constitution'; M. Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory (Oxford, Clarendon, 1992); T. R. S. Allan, Law, Liberty and Justice: the Legal Foundations of British Constitutionalism (Oxford, Clarendon, 1993).
46. R. v. Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd (No. 2) [1991] 1 A.C. 603. See also N. MacCormick, 'Beyond the sovereign state', Modern Law Review, 56 (1993), 1-19.
47. See M. Moran and T. Prosser (eds), Privatization and Regulatory Change in Europe (Buckingham, Open University Press, 1994), pp. 148-53.
48. R v. Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Brind [1991] 1 A.C. 696.
49. See Lord Keith in Attorney-General v, Guardian Newspapers (No 2), [1990] 1 A.C. 109 at 256-7, Lord Griffiths at 273 and Lord Goff at 283-4.
50. [1993] 1 A.C. 534.
51. [1992] 1 QB 770 (CA). Scots law is currently somewhat uncertain on the matter; see Kaur v. Lord Advocate 1981 S.L.T. 322; Moore v. Secretary of State for Scotland 1985 S.L.T. 38; Hamilton v. Secretary of State for Scotland, 18 December 1990 (unreported).
52. re M [1993] 3 W.L.R. 433. Scots law has unfortunately so far failed to follow this lead: MacDonald v. Secretary of State for Scotland 1994 SLT 692.
53. See the discussion in T. Campbell, The Left and Rights (London, Routledge, 1982), and more recently Waldron, 'A right-based critique of constitutional rights', and Bellamy, 'The constitution of Europe: rights or democracy?'.
54. See e.g. A. Ryan, 'The British, The Americans and rights' in M. Lacey and K. Haakonssen (eds), A Culture of Rights (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991), pp. 366-439, p. 436.
55. The term 'rights foundationalist' is taken from B. Ackerman, 'Constitutional politics/constitutional law', Yale Law Journal 99, (1989), 453-547, p. 465 ff.
56. See e.g. N. MacCormick, 'Sovereignty, democracy and subsidiarity' in Bellamy et al. Democracy and Constitutional Culture in the Union of Europe, p. 102.
57. R. Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously (London, Duckworth, 1977), p. 194.
58. R. Dworkin, 'Constitutionalism and democracy', European Journal of Philosophy, 3 (1995), 2-11.
59. See C. Crawford, 'European influence on local self-government', Local Government Studies, 18 (1992), 69-85.
60. Dicey, The Law of the Constitution, p. 78 (footnote omitted).
61. Ackerman, 'Constitutional politics/constitutional law', pp. 461-2; see also his We the People (London, Belknap, 1991) and Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'.
62. Ackerman, 'Constitutional politics/constitutional law', pp. 461-2; see also his We the People (London, Belknap, 1991) and Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'.
63. Ackerman, 'Constitutional politics/constitutional law', pp. 461-2; see also his We the People (London, Belknap, 1991) and Harden, 'The constitution and its discontents'.
64. I use the term 'English' rather than 'British' advisedly here as there has been a much more lively debate in Scotland, and a more open judicial attitude to the possibility of 'higher law'.
65. See J. Jennings, 'The French constitutional tradition' in Bellamy et al., Democracy and Constitutional Culture in the Union of Europe, pp. 21-36.
66. See Bellamy, 'The constitution of Europe: rights or democracy?', p. 164.
67. Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously, p. 200.
68. Dworkin, Taking Rights Seriously, p. 200.
69. This is the point of the Hercules example used by Dworkin; see Taking Rights Seriously, ch. 4.
70. [1991] 3 CMLR 849; for an excellent analysis see G. de Burca, 'Fundamental human rights and the reach of EC Law', Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 13 (1993), 283-319.
71. At p. 875.
72. At p. 881.
73. Open Door Counselling and Dublin Well Woman Centre v. Ireland (1993) 15 E.H.R.R. 244.
74. See Bellamy, 'The constitution of Europe: rights or democracy?', pp. 166, 171.