Constitution
All Standard Notes
37 Documents
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 09.04.2013 | State and ceremonial funerals |
| This Note explains the arrangements for state and ceremonial funerals, including examples from the past. It shows the distinction between the two types of funeral, looks at what is known about the process to decide whether a state funeral will be held for a commoner, and provides some information on costs. | |
| 15.01.2013 | Referendum on independence for Scotland |
| The UK and Scottish Governments reached agreement in October 2012 on the legislation needed to hold a referendum on Scottish independence. This Note discusses the agreement, and the draft 'Section 30 Order' by which the UK Parliament will give the Scottish Parliament the power to hold the vote. It also covers the question of the franchise and some reaction to the agreement. | |
| 31.12.2012 | The Turks and Caicos Islands |
| This note briefly reviews the crisis of political and economic governance which has affected the Turks and Caicos Islands since 2008. A period of direct rule came to an end when fresh elections were held in November 2012. Only time will tell whether the Turks and Caicos Islands are now set on a new course - and, if so, what that course is. | |
| 21.12.2012 | Constitutional change: timeline from 1911 |
| This note contains a short and highly selective chronology of constitutional change over the past century. Prominent themes include parliamentary reform, devolution and changes to the franchise. | |
| 27.11.2012 | Nepal: re-setting the peace process? |
| This note covers events in Nepal since 2006, where a painful and protracted peace process has been underway. At the end of May 2012, the Constituent Assembly supposed to draw up a new Constitution was dissolved without having achieved its objective. The key sticking point was federalism. Since then, the political parties have argued about how to re-set the process. While there is growing agreement that what is needed is a new 'national unity' caretaker government and elections in 2013 for a fresh Constituent Assembly, there is still fierce dispute over which party should provide the prime minister. The president has given the parties until the end of the month to decide. | |
| 18.07.2012 | Timetabling of constitutional bills since 1997 |
| This note provides some information on the amount of time the House has spent considering constitutional bills on the floor of the House of Commons during committee stage. The Note covers the period since 1997, when the programming of bills was first introduced. | |
| 16.08.2011 | The Separation of Powers |
| This Standard Note considers the extent to which 1) the executive and legislature; 2) the executive and judiciary; and 3) the judiciary and legislature now overlap and interact. | |
| 20.07.2011 | Fixed Term Parliament Bill - Lords stages |
| This standard note summarises the Lords stages of the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill | |
| 30.06.2011 | Thresholds in Referendums |
| Referendums have become an established mechanism for validating constitutional initiatives in the UK. The possibility of using an appropriate minimum turnout, or a special majority to ensure that the outcome of such a poll is seen as legitimate is sometimes raised. This note looks at the debate in the UK so far and briefly looks at the use of referendum thresholds in states outside the UK. | |
| 08.06.2011 | Conventions on the relationship between the House of Commons and House of Lords |
| There are a number of conventions and statutes which together, enshrine the primacy of the elected chamber, the House of Commons, over the House of Lords. These are examined in this note along with the requirements of the Parliament Acts and the proposals set out by the Government in their 2011 White Paper and Bill. | |
| 01.06.2011 | In brief: Burma's 'discipline-flourishing democracy' |
| This note reviews developments in Burma since the November 2010 elections. | |
| 21.02.2011 | The Parliamentary Voting system and Constituencies Bill: summary of amendments |
| 15.02.2011 | Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill: Lords stages |
| This Note summarises the Lords stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11. It supplements Research Paper 10/55 which was produced for the Bill's second reading in the House of Commons and Research Paper 10/72 which summarises all the Commons stages of the Bill. | |
| 24.01.2011 | The Act of Settlement and the Protestant Succession |
| This note sets out the legal background to the rules surrounding the succession and then considers the historical background and context for the limitations on religious beliefs of the monarch and their spouse before looking at how the legislative restrictions could be removed. Lastly, it sets out recent attempts to change the laws of succession. | |
| 20.12.2010 | Fixed-term Parliaments Bill 2010-11: Commons stages |
| The Fixed-term Parliaments Bill [Bill No 64 of 2010-11] was introduced to the House of Commons on 22 July 2010 and had its Second Reading on 13 September 2010. This Note details the progress of the Bill, including developments between First and Second Reading and the Second Reading debate itself. | |
| 14.04.2010 | Remaining stages of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill 2009-10 |
| This Note outlines the changes made to the Bill during report stage and third reading in the House of Commons, seconf reading in the Lords and during wash up. | |
| 22.03.2010 | Political and security arrangements in the Pakistan border areas with Afghanistan |
| This note outlines the current political and security arrangements in the ethnic Pashtun-dominated areas on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA). | |
| 24.02.2010 | Clarification of the Act of Settlement 1701 |
| This note explains the background to the introduction of Clause 83 into the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill 2009-10. The clause was introduced after it was suggested that Section 18 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 has introduced some difficulties of interpretation into the provisions of Section 3 of the Act of Settlement 1701.This affected the eligibility of Commonwealth and Republic of Ireland citizens to sit in the House of Lords. | |
| 25.11.2009 | Citizens' Assemblies |
| This paper sets out the proposals for citizen engagement in constitutional reform made by the Government in the Governance of Britain Green Paper and subsequent announcements. | |
| 16.10.2009 | Governance of Britain: An update |
| This note provides an update on the proposals made by the Government in their July 2007 Green Paper on constitutional reform, The Governance of Britain. The note sets out each proposal and progress made since the publication of the Green Paper, including the contents of the Constitutional Renewal White Paper and draft Bill published in March 2008, and the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill introduced in July 2009. | |
| 05.10.2009 | Bill of Rights 1689 |
| This Note sets out the historical background to the Bill of Rights 1688-89 and examines how its provisions have altered in the intervening centuries. Its role as part of the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom is also discussed. | |
| 30.09.2009 | Power2010 |
| This note provides an overview of the Power inquiry in addition to the Power2010 campaign launched by Baroness Kennedy QC on 15 September 2009. | |
| 03.09.2009 | Judicial appointments |
| This note provides background to the recent changes to the judicial appointments system in England and Wales, starting with the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which established the Judicial Appointments Commission. Further changes to eligibility for appointment were made under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, which changed the criteria for appointment to a number of judicial offices. The Governance of Britain Green Paper suggested that there would be additional changes to the system of judicial appointments. In March 2008, the Government published a White Paper and a Draft Bill setting out the proposed amendments. | |
| 03.02.2009 | Background to Proposals for a British Bill of Rights |
| The three major political parties have all recently proposed that the UK should adopt a 'British Bill of Rights' of some kind. This paper outlines these proposals and sets them in context. | |
| 02.12.2008 | Royal marriages-constitutional issues |
| This note sets out the legal and historical background to the restrictions on royal marriages, and considers their application in the case of the marriage of Prince Charles to Camilla Parker Bowles. | |
| 27.08.2008 | The Coronation Oath |
| This Note offers a summary of coronation procedures and sets out the statutory requirements for the Coronation Oath. | |
| 16.06.2008 | The Law Officers |
| This Standard Note provides information about the role of the Law Officers in England and Wales (the Attorney General and Solicitor General). | |
| 01.05.2008 | Citizens' Initiatives |
| This Note considers proposals for the introduction of a 'Citizens' Initiative' process in the UK, where citizens would be able to petition for referendum questions to be placed on ballot papers of for legislation to be introduced in Parliament. | |
| 30.04.2008 | The Central-Local Concordat |
| This note covers the central-local concordat signed in December 2007 in fulfilment of a pledge in the Governance of Britain Green Paper. | |
| 14.12.2007 | Citizens' Juries |
| This note sets out the programme of citizens' juries which were announced by the Prime Minister. It collates information about the events held since July 2007, but also considers the use of citizens' juries and deliberative forums in the UK by local and national Government since 1997. | |
| 17.08.2006 | The Political Process and Citizenship Education |
| Citizenship education has been adopted to various degrees across other parts of the UK, as this Note summarises. The curriculum has been developed against a backdrop of wider concerns regarding a downturn in public engagement with formal politics, the increasing importance lent to children's participation, and the perceived link between education and participation. | |
| 14.11.2005 | The Constitutional Reform Act 2005- the role of the Lord Chancellor |
| This Note is designed to provide a short supplement to Standard Notes no 2105 and Research Papers 05/05 which described the provisions of, and background to, the Constitutional Reform Bill in relation to the Lord Chancellor until its second reading in the Commons. The Bill had a protracted initial passage through the Lords where a special committee had taken evidence on the Bill before eventual report stage and third reading. The scrutiny of the Bill in the Commons was truncated by the general election of 2005. | |
| 21.02.2005 | House of Lords Reform - recent developments |
| This note reviews developments in the debate on the reform of the House of Lords since the publication of the Government's consultation paper, Constitutional reform: next steps for the House of Lords. | |
| 10.05.2004 | IGC 2004: issues surrounding UK ratification of the European Constitution |
| IGC 2004: issues surrounding UK ratification of the European Constitution. By Vaughne Miller. SN/IA/3040. | |
| 08.01.2004 | The Draft Single European Currency (Referendum) Bill |
| This note examines the background to the introduction of the draft bill. It sets out the current Government position on the euro and EMU, and the latest assessment of the five economic tests. It then looks at the use of referendums within the United Kingdom and considers the provisions of the draft bill in detail. Details of the pre-legislative scrutiny process for the bill have not yet been announced. | |
| 01.12.2003 | Role of the Lord Chancellor |
| The post of Lord Chancellor was to be abolished in its entirety and a new Department for Constitutional Affairs under Lord Falconer, of Thoroton, incorporating the Wales and Scotland Offices, replaced the Lord Chancellor's Department. This Note looks at this constitutional change and its results. | |
| 13.12.2000 | Parliamentary Resolutions on Ministerial Accountability |
| This Note looks at parliamentary resolutions on ministerial accountability. |
All Research Papers
13 Documents
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 19.12.2012 | Succession to the Crown Bill 2012-13 |
| The Succession to the Crown Bill would make changes so that gender would no longer play a part in determining the order of succession to the Crown, and so that a person marrying a Roman Catholic would no longer be barred from becoming or remaining monarch. It would also remove a requirement for descendants of George II to seek permission from the monarch to marry, replacing it with a requirement for the first six people in the line of succession to seek consent if they wish to remain in line to the throne. This Paper discusses the existing rules, the changes proposed by the Bill, and the process among the 16 states of which the Queen is Head of State to make the changes together. | |
| 12.07.2011 | Sovereign Grant Bill |
| The Sovereign Grant Bill concerns the way in which the monarchy is funded. It seeks to replace the Civil List and other grants that support the Queen's official duties with a new Sovereign Grant, based on a percentage of the profits of the Crown Estate. The new grant is designed to deliver at first a broadly similar level of finance in cash terms to what is available at present. There are mechanisms for adjusting the level in future, and for using any significant surplus as a means to reduce the grant. The Sovereign Grant is intended to be a typical government grant that will lead to the royal finances being audited by the National Audit Office, and subjected to full parliamentary scrutiny. | |
| 20.01.2011 | Fixed-term Parliaments Bill: Commons Stages [Bill No 64 of 2010-11] |
| This Research Paper summarises all the Commons stages of the Fixed-term Parliaments Bill. It complements Research Paper 10/54 which was prepared for the Commons Second Reading. No major amendments were made to the Bill during its Committee stage and no amendments were made during Report. | |
| 11.11.2010 | Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11: Commons Stages |
| This Paper summarises all Commons stages of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill 2010-11. It supplements Research Paper 10/55 which was produced for the Bill's Second Reading and replaces Standard Note 5697 'Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill: Progress of the Bill'. No major changes were made during the passage of the Bill in the Commons, but the text of the referendum question was altered and legislative provision was made for the combination of polls on 5 May 2011. | |
| 01.09.2010 | The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill [Bill 63 of 2010-11] |
| This Paper has been prepared for the Second Reading debate in the House of Commons. The Bill seeks to enable the next general election to be fought under the Alternative Vote system, provided this change is endorsed in a referendum on 5 May 2011 and boundary changes have been made to reduce the size of the House of Commons to 600. New rules for the redistribution of seats are designed to give primacy to numerical equality in constituencies and regular redistributions would take place every five years. | |
| 26.08.2010 | Fixed-term Parliaments Bill [Bill 64 of 2010-11] |
| The Fixed-term Parliaments Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 22 July 2010. The proposals are part of the Coalition Agreement between the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, agreed after the May 2010 General Election. The Bill fixes the date of the next General Election at 7 May 2015, and provides five year fixed-terms. There are provisions to allow the Prime Minister to alter the date by Order by up to two months. There are also two ways in which an election could be triggered before the five year term: if a motion of no confidence is passed and no alternative government is found within 14 days; or a motion for an early General Election is agreed either by at least two-thirds of the House or without division. | |
| 25.02.2010 | Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill: Committee stage report |
| There were some significant amendments during the Committee Stage of this Bill. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority was given control over setting Members' pay and pensions by amendments to the Parliamentary Standard Act 2009. There is to be a new Compliance Officer to investigate alleged misuse of Members' allowances; amendments would ensure that all MPs and peers would be liable to UK taxes; there would be a referendum on whether to adopt the Alternative Vote by 31 October 2011; and a new requirement on Returning Officers to begin election counts four hours after a general election poll closes. | |
| 06.10.2009 | Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill. Bill 142 2008-09. |
| This Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 20 July 2009. It followed the publication in July 2007 of the Governance of Britain Green Paper which set out a broad programme of constitutional reform. In March 2008 the Government published the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill and Constitutional Renewal White Paper. The draft Bill was scrutinised by a Joint Committee, with other committees reporting on aspects of the proposals. The content of the Bill is different from that of the draft Bill in some significant ways. As well as clauses on the civil service, the ratification of treaties, judicial appointments and protest around Parliament which were contained in the draft Bill, the Bill includes new provisions on the House of Lords, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the National Audit Office, Human Rights claims against the devolved administrations and the transparency of financial reporting to Parliament. Clauses on the Attorney General, which had been in the draft Bill, are not in the Bill as introduced. | |
| 17.03.2009 | Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill |
| 26.10.2007 | The Governance of Britain Green Paper |
| 13.01.2005 | Constitutional Reform Bill (HL): a Supreme Court for the United Kingdom and judicial appointments (Bill 18 of 2004/05) |
| The Constitutional Reform Bill (HL) - a Supreme Court for the United Kingdom and judicial appointments (Bill 18 of 2004/05). House of Commons Library Research Paper 05/06. | |
| 12.01.2005 | Constitutional Reform Bill (HL); the office of the Lord Chancellor (Bill 18 of 2004-05) |
| The Constitutional Reform Bill (HL) - the office of Lord Chancellor (Bill 18 of 2004/05). House of Commons Library Research Paper 05/05. | |
| 20.05.2003 | Whither the civil service? |
| Whither the civil service? . House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/49. |
