Constitutional law worksheet with answers

A writ of habeas corpus:

1. AOrders a public body to perform a statutory duty
2. BPermits the government to search private homes
3. CAllows the police to detain a suspect without charge for up to a week while a court reviews the evidence against them
4. DRequires a detained person to be brought before a court so that the legality of the detention can be tested

Which Act created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom?

1. AScotland Act 1998
2. BHuman Rights Act 1998
3. CConstitutional Reform Act 2005
4. DParliament Act 1911

In the United States, the "Bill of Rights" refers to:

1. AThe first article of the Constitution
2. BThe Declaration of Independence
3. CA statute passed by Congress in the 1960s
4. DThe first ten amendments to the Constitution

In Lingens v Austria, the European Court of Human Rights held that politicians:

1. ACannot sue for defamation at all
2. BHave no rights under Article 10
3. CAre fully protected from any criticism
4. DMust tolerate wider criticism than private individuals

Under British Oxygen v Minister of Technology, a public body that adopts a policy for exercising its discretion must:

1. AHave the policy approved by Parliament
2. BMake no policy at all
3. CStill be willing to listen to anyone with something new to say
4. DApply the policy rigidly in every case to ensure consistent treatment

In Pickin v British Railways Board, the House of Lords held that courts:

1. ACan review Acts for compliance with private bill rules
2. BCan strike down a private Act if it is shown that Parliament was misled during its passage
3. CWill not examine whether Parliament followed its internal procedures in passing an Act
4. DMust investigate any allegation of fraud in Parliament

In R (Nicklinson) v Ministry of Justice (2014), concerning the ban on assisted suicide, the majority of the UK Supreme Court:

1. AHeld that Article 8 was not engaged at all
2. BMade a declaration of incompatibility with Article 8, while leaving the ban itself in force for now
3. CDeclined to make a declaration of incompatibility at that time, leaving it to Parliament
4. DRead the ban down under section 3 to allow assisted dying

Walter Bagehot described the "efficient secret" of the English constitution as:

1. AThe strict separation of all three powers
2. BThe monarch's power to veto legislation
3. CThe close union of the executive and legislative powers
4. DThe independence of the House of Lords