The Differences Betweek the UK and US Constitutions Essay

The Differences Betweek the UK and US Constitutions The constitution of a state, at its most basic, can be described as the fundamental principles from which it is governed, usually defining how power is split up within it and thereby constructing a framework within which it operates (www.oed.com). In this essay, I will first provide a brief summary of the UK and US constitutions and then attempt to outline the key differences and similarities between the two and discuss whether the differences really do pale in comparison with the fundamental similarities. Queen Elizabeth the 2nd once said, â€Å"The British constitution has always puzzled me† (Hennessy, 1996) and this certainly becomes†¦show more content†¦parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy, meaning that parliament has a supremacy over the monarchy but the Queen still has certain powers (Jones et al., 2004). Since the 1970’s the traditional constitution has been challenged and had two major changes, which I will talk about later. The US constitution, unlike the UK constitution, is codified. It has a clear written primary source and one could say that its secondary source is the interpretation by the Supreme Court, which can change the meaning of specific phrases written in the primary source (Singh, 2003). A central principle to the constitution is that government should be limited and the powers split up. To insure this, the institutional arrangements are set up in a federal way, with matters of direct relevance to the people in the hands of each state and local politicians (Singh, 2003). The government is separated into the legislature (Congress), the executive (President) and the judiciary (Supreme Court) to provide checks and balances for the prevention of tyranny and the misuse of power. Finally, there is a Bill of Rights, which restrains governmental excesses through written documents and gives clear rules which are supreme over ordinary legislation (Singh, 2003). The first noticeable difference between the two constitutions is that the US constitution