As you may already know, constitutions lay the political groundwork which decide how a state is governed. However, it is important to note constitutions differ from state to state.
Therefore, within this article we will explore the similarities and differences between the US and UK constitutions in terms of their source and structure, authority, checks and balances and the nature of separation and powers. Before finally analysing how "strong" the two respective constitutions are.
UK Constitution and US Constitution Definition
Let us first of all define a constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of principles that define how a state should be governed. It is important to have a constitution as it outlines how a country should be run and the rights of the nation’s citizens. Each sovereign nation has their own consitution, defining how power is distributed within its political system.
Fig. 1 - The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution
Before we get stuck into the similarities and differences between the US and UK constitution, let's remind ourselves of some of their key features:
| UK Constitution | US Constitution |
| The evolution of the UK Constitution began in 1215, with the acceptance of the Magna Carta. A foundational constitutional document that outlined the role of the monarch. | Written by the Founding Fathers in 1787. |
| The UK Consitution is uncodified. This means that it is not held in a single document and continues to evolve rapidly over time as more sources are added to the UK Constitution. | The US Consitution is a written or codified constitution. This means that the entire constitution has been contained within a single document. |
| The UK Constitution establishes a number of key features of the UK political system. These include: | The US Consitution established the key features of government, such as:- Separation of Powers
- Consitutional division of powers between federal and state governments
- Key powers of the US Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
|
Table 1 - Comparison between the UK and US Constitutions
Similarities Between UK and US Constitution
There are a number of key similarities between the UK and US constitutions. Take a look at the table below to see for yourself:
Category | Similarity |
Elections | The governments of the UK and the US are democratically elected representatives. They are elected to work in the interest of the country's population. |
Judiciary | Both the UK and US have independent judiciary systems represented by the Supreme Court. This is to ensure individual rights are protected and laws are being upheld. |
Federalism and Devolution | Due to these systems within the UK and US is signifies that central governments do not have sole power. |
Table 2 - Similarities between the UK and US Constitutions
Elections
The government of the UK and the US are made up of democratically elected representatives. The electorate describes the voting population who vote during national, regional and local elections.
In the US congresspeople are elected during elections held in the respective states and in the UK, members of parliament are elected by the constituents from the respective electoral constituency.
Judiciary
The UK and US both have an independent judicial branch, in both countries, it is through the Supreme Court. The courts work to interpret law, protect individual rights and ensure laws are being upheld. However, the Supreme Court was written into the American constitution whereas, in the UK, it is a fairly new concept.
The UK Supreme Court was established in October 2009. This court is the final court of appeal in the UK for all civil cases.
Fig. 2 - The UK Supreme Court is housed in Middlesex Guildhall
Federalism and Devolution
Due to federalism in the US and devolution in the UK, these constitutional features mean that central governments do not have sole power.
Federalism: a form of government which includes the power of the central government as well as local state governments
Devolution: a delegation of power from the central government to local governments
Because of this, some particular subjects like education and tax can differ and the central government does not have power over these. It is important to note that the system of federalism was written into the American constitution, whereas the concept of devolution is a fairly new system as the process was initiated in the UK during the 1990's.
In England, students have to pay £9,250 to attend university but in Scotland, students can attend university free of charge.
In the US, state legalisation varies across all 50 states. For instance, capital punishment is legal in 27 states across America.
Differences Between UK and US Constitution
There are a number of key differences between the UK and US constitutions. Below we will explore how these constitutional differences shape the political systems of the UK and US.
Codified and uncodified constitutions
US Constitution
The US Constitution is codified. This means that the principles which define how the country is governed are held within a single constitutional document.
Additionally, the US constitution was also designed by the Founding Fathers to be entrenched. An entrenched constitution means that a specific procedure is required for constitutional amendments to be made.
The entrenched nature of the US constitution makes it difficult to make constitutional changes and explains why there have only been 27 amendments since 1789. The Founding Fathers believed it was important that the US constitution could not be readily changed. This was to protect the established rights and liberties of the American people. However, a key criticism of the entrenched nature of the US constitution is that at times the document, first crafted in 1787, can appear out of touch with modern politics.
How can the US constitution be changed?
There are two ways the constitution can be amended. Firstly, constitutional amendments can come from Congress and 2/3 majority vote. Or via a convention, presented to Congress when 2/3 of state legislatures form an application for an amendment.
UK Constitution
Whereas, in the UK, the constitution is uncodified and is made up of a collection of a number of constitutional sources.
These sources include statute law, common law, conventions and works of authority. Additionally, because the UK has an uncodified constitution, it can also be described as unentrenched. An unentrenched constitution has no specific procedure for amendment.
In the UK, its constitution is changed every time a new law is passed by Parliament. This is because statute law is one of the many sources which make up the UK constitution. Ultimately, this has meant the UK constitution has evolved organically over a significant period of time.
Statute law represents laws passed by the UK Parliament. These laws are deemed the most important features in defining the UK constitution. This is due to the principle of Parliamentary sovereignty. The 1998 Human Rights Act is an example of Statute law.
Federalism and devolved power
US Constitution
The idea of federalism in the US was written into the constitution by the Founding Fathers. They wanted a country where power was not centred on one organisation and as a result invested power in the federal and state governments. It is important to note that both federal and state governments must abide by the US Constitution.
UK Constitution
Whereas, devolution in the UK is a fairly new concept. The devolved nations do not have the power to make laws on all matters. For example, in terms of foreign policy, all of the nations within the UK must follow the Westminster government's decisions and rules.
In the US, all 50 states have their own government and well as the central government in Washington. In the UK, there is the central Westminster Parliament, as well the devolved Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland assembly.
Separation of powers
US Constitution
In the US, the constitution outlines a separation of powers among the three branches of government. These three branches of government include the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. This is designed to prevent any one branch of government from becoming too powerful and ensuring there are sufficient checks and balances.
For instance, Article 1, Section 6 of the US constitution bars incumbent members of Congress from holding executive branch or judicial offices. This meant that in 2008, in order to become the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama had to resign as Senator.
UK Constitution
Whereas, the UK constitution allows for significant cross over amongst its many branches of government. The UK executive is made up of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers. These members of the UK executive also sit within the UK legislature and represent the political party that has the most elected seats within the House of Commons.
Judiciary
US Constitution
Sovereignty in terms of politics can be defined as having all power of a country and in the US, this responsibility is given to the US Constitution. This signifies that all the power of the US is held within the constitution and if anything is disputed it is the constitution that should be referred to. We can see this in cases that go to the US Supreme Court, where judges have the make the decision as to whether a law abides by the constitution or does not. This process is called judicial review.
UK Constitution
This is different to the UK, where Parliament is sovereign. They have the power to make and abolish laws and this is known as parliamentary sovereignty. For the UK Supreme Court, judges can make a judgement as to whether a law is constitutional, but Parliament can effectively just pass a new law to make the disputed matter constitutional.
Checks and balances
US Constitution
When America gained independence from Britain in 1776, the Founding Fathers wanted a nation that was not built on a single-power ideal or that would benefit a specific group of individuals. Therefore, within the constitution, they set out terms for the three branches to be able to perform checks on each other. Examples of this include the Presidential veto and the legislature's impeachment process.
Article 1, section 6 of the US Constitution grants the President the authority to veto legislation passed by Congress.
Article 1, section 2 of the US constitution grants the House of Representatives the power to impeach the US President. While the Senate is granted the power to try all Presidential impeachment cases.
UK Constitution
In the UK it is quite different, a no-confidence vote can be brought to Parliament in the event that a sitting Prime Minister is deemed to have lost the support of the legislature. However, this can be difficult to pass unless the opposition party is large within the majority party.
The Judiciary can conduct checks and balances on the legislature in Supreme Court cases, but as mentioned previously, the government can pass a new law and the Supreme Court does not have the power to strike out law.
How Strong are the Two Constitutions?
The strength of both the constitutions can be judged on many instances but we will be focussing on how they may protect a citizen, how easy it is to change and whether it provides the electorate rights and efficiency.
These tables can be used as arguments in comparative essay and would be essential to learn.
US
Strong | Weak |
Difficult to amend, although through Supreme Court can informally amend based on their interpretation of the constitution | The Supreme Court is not elected and has so much power that it can strike out law |
Wording is vague which allows flexibility so can evolve | Can lead to many conflicting interpretations |
Power is not centred on one branch | Can lead to gridlocks between key branches of the US Federal government |
Table 3 - Strengths and weaknesses of the US Constitution
UK
Strong | Weak |
Easy to change | Can lead to only favouring a specific group of ideas |
Specific wording so less conflicting interpretations | Citizens rights are not entrenched and can be taken away by a bill |
All citizens including the monarch and prime minister are equal and no one is above the law | Due to fusion of powers, Prime Minister has a lot of power |
Table 4 - Strengths and weaknesses of the UK Constitution
US vs UK Constitutions - Key Takeaways
- A constitution is a set of principles that are created based on how a state should be governed.
- The government of the UK and the US are democratically elected representatives with the electorate being the citizens of the country.
- The UK and US both have an independent judiciary which works to protect individual rights, as well ensuring the law is upheld.
- Also, due to federalism and devolution, both countries' power is not singularly within the central government.
- The US constitution is codified, this means that their laws are entrenched and this is different to the UK, whereby the constitution is uncodified.
- All the power of the US is held within the constitution and if anything is disputed it is the constitution that should be referred to.
- In the UK, where Parliament is sovereign. They have the power to make and abolish laws and this is known as parliamentary sovereignty.
- Federalism was written into the US constitution by the founding fathers as they wanted a country where power was not centred on one organisation, like it was when the British ruled.
- Devolution is a a delegation of power from the central government to local governments. It is important to note that devolved nations, such as Scotland or Wales, do not have power over all policy areas.
References
- Fig. 2 - Supreme Court (Middlesex Guildhall), London 01 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_(Middlesex_Guildhall),_London_01.jpg) by Paul the Archivist (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Paul_the_Archivist&action=edit&redlink=1) licensed by CC-BY-SA-4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)
- Table 1 - Comparison between the UK and US Constitutions
- Table 2 - Similarities between the UK and US Constitutions
- Table 3 - Strengths and weaknesses of the US Constitution
- Table 4 - Strengths and weaknesses of the UK Constitution
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