The UK Vs US Constitution

The UK vs US Constitution
Similarities
 The US constitution has parts which can be thought of as unwritten, such as the right for any
couple to marry regardless of sexual orientation, which came from a supreme court ruling
(Obergefell v Hodges 2015).
 The US disperses power through federalism, and although the UK's Westminster Parliament
is sovereign, NI, Scotland and Wales have their own assemblies which have many devolved
powers.
 The US Constitution has entrenched clauses, such as Article V which states that there will be
universal suffrage. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 can be described as entrenched
clauses of the UK uncodified constitution.
 In the UK, constitutional changes only really happen under majority governments, such as
Tony Blair's Labour government from 1997-2007, in which devolution, the Human Rights Act
and the Freedom of Information Act. In the US, if there was a united government with a large
majority, in theory, constitutional changes could take place, but this is rare due to the long-
held principle of limited government.
Differences
 The UK has an uncodified constitution whereas the American constitution is codified.

 The US constitution sets out a strict system of separation of powers, whereas the UK has a
fusion of powers.
 The US constitution is a Presidential constitution, whereas the UK has a
Parliamentary constitution.
 For a bill to become law and therefore become part of the constitution, it is simply passed
through and voted on in Parliament (eg HRA 1998), but in America 2/3 of the states and
senate must agree for an amendment to be added.
 The Supreme Court in the UK cannot declare primary legislation from Parliament as
unconstitutional, whereas the American Supreme Court can do this for any Executive act or
Act of Congress.
 Whereas many constitutional changes have happened in the UK in recent years, such as
devolution and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, amendments to the American
constitution have gained little support, with only 4 out of 12 being approved in the HOR and
none being agreed upon in the Senate since 1995.
 Westminster Parliament is sovereign in the UK and promotes unitary government, whereas
the American constitution promotes federalism.
 The USA constitution sets out the enumerated powers of Congress, whereas the powers of
the UK parliament are harder to define, as they have grown through statute law, conventions
and common law.
Overall comparison
Although on the surface the codified nature of the US Constitution seems to infer that it is rigid
and inflexible in order to deter it from tyranny, under the surface it can be kept up to date and
evolve through the times via Supreme Court rulings, like Obergefell v Hodges, which legalised
same-sex marriage in America. Although the UK constitution is uncodified, many important acts
are seen as impossible to remove, like devolution and the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949,
meaning they can be called entrenched. It seems that they are therefore more similar than they
appear on the surface.
A constitution means established precedents or fundamental principles which are

followed to govern a country. Every independent state has a constitution which is its
fundamental law according to which the domestic laws are framed. It’s the supreme
law.
The Constitutions of the USA and the UK are the most popular constitutions in the
world. They have served as epitomes of a perfect fundamental law for decades and
have been followed by many countries in framing their constitutions. They are based
on two entirely different political systems.
The key differences between US Constitution and British Constitution are as

follows:
Difference in nature
The US Constitution is in black and white, i.e. it’s a written document. The British
Constitution, on the other hand, is unwritten and doesn’t have a proper codified
form.
The Difference in the form of Government

In the US, there’s presidential form of government whereas the UK has
parliamentary system based on constitutional monarchy.
Difference in Houses
The US political system is based on two houses:
1. The House of Representatives
2. The Senate
On the other hand, the British political system also has two houses which are:
1. House of Lords
2. House of Commons
Rigid
The US Constitution is rigid and very hard to amend. The process of its amendment
involves the following two steps:
1. Proposal- The amendments are proposed by two-thirds of the Senate members and the
members of the House of Representatives.
2. Ratification- The proposal is then ratified after three-fourths of the total members agrees
to it. In the past 200 years, there have only been 27 amendments in the US Constitution
so far.
The British Constitution, on the other hand, is unwritten and it doesn’t require any
rigid process to initiate amendments.
Executive Head
Under the US Constitution, the President is established as the Head of the State
who is the executive head whereas the British Queen is the head of the State too
but not the executive head because the Queen reigns but doesn’t rule.
Separation of Powers
All the three organs of government i.e. the legislature, executive and judiciary are
independent of one another in the British political system, whereas the concept of
separation of powers isn’t absolute in the US Constitution due to presence of checks
and balances which means that all these organs can interfere in the functions of one
another to scrutinize and prevent the exploitation of powers.
Nature of Democratic System

The democratic system of government in the US is based on two-party democracy
whereas there’s multi party system in the UK.
Political Discourses
The politicians in the USA openly criticize each other in both the Houses by
rendering the actions of other members unconstitutional, whereas in the UK, the
political discourses are free of these criticisms and arguments.
Elections
In the US, elections take place every four years where the President is elected by
the Electoral College. The members of the Senate are elected every 6 years and the
House of Representative members every 2 years.
Contrary to the above, in the UK, the parliamentary elections take place every five
years.
Number of States
In the USA, there’s a concept of federation. Which means the federal power lies with
the center and there are fifty States that enjoy their autonomy under the
Constitution. In the UK, there are four countries namely, Scotland, Ireland, England
and Wales. All these countries collectively form a single nation which makes the UK
a unitary state as compared to the USA.
Key Facts about US and British Constitution:

 According to Cable News Network (CNN), The US Constitution consists of seven
articles, 27 amendments (added in 1992) and a preamble.
 “The first three articles of the Constitution set up the federal system by dividing
power between three branches of government - the legislative, executive and
judicial. “(CNN)
 “The Fourth and Tenth Amendments ensure states' rights and separate the
federal and state governments.” (CNN)
 “Federal powers listed in the Constitution include the right to collect taxes,
declare war and regulate trade. The federal government has implied powers that
allow the government to respond to changing needs of the nation.” (CNN)
 “Unlike most modern states, Britain does not have a codified constitution but an
unwritten one formed of Acts of Parliament, court judgments and conventions.”
Professor Robert Blackburn
 “The Parliament Acts (1911–49) that regulate the respective powers of the two
Houses of Parliament.” Professor Robert Blackburn
 “The Representation of the People Acts (1918) (as amended) providing for
universal voting and other matters of political representation.” Professor Robert
Blackburn
 “The European Communities Act (1972) making the UK a legal partner in the
European Union.” Professor Robert Blackburn

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The UK Vs US Constitution

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The UK vs US Constitution

 The UK has an uncodified constitution whereas the American constitution is codified.

A constitution means established precedents or fundamental principles which are

The key differences between US Constitution and British Constitution are as

The Difference in the form of Government

Nature of Democratic System

Key Facts about US and British Constitution:

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