Written and 'Unwritten' Constitutions

About the lecture

In this module we explore the significance of the different constitutional arrangements in the US and UK, focusing in particular on: (i) the US Constitution as the fundamental source of legal and political authority within the US political system and a (theoretical) expression of popular sovereignty; (ii) the lack of a codified UK Constitution and therefore the lack of a single document serving as the fundamental basis for civil and political rights in the UK; (iii) the fact that while the UK Constitution is uncodified, it is nevertheless present in various “written” legislation including the 1998 Human Rights Act; (iv) the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty and theoretical implications of this for civil and political rights in the UK; (v) the practical constraints on Parliament in the UK despite this doctrine; (vi) the fact that Parliament could (and may) repeal the Human Rights Act; (vii) comparisons between the UK and US throughout the lecture.

About the lecturer

Professor Andrew Blick has extensive experience working for think tanks in the UK Parliament and as an administrative assistant at No.10 Downing Street. He has advised democratic reform groups working in countries including Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine; and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm. From 2010-15 he was research fellow to the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the possibility of introducing a written constitution for the UK, carried out by the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. In 2021 he began participation in an AHRC-funded project assessing the history of democracy from ancient times to the contemporary era, through considering written primary sources. He recently published ‘Electrified Democracy: the Internet and the United Kingdom Parliament in history’.