Constitutional law worksheet with answers

Which body adopts laws in a parliamentary democracy?

1. AThe legislature (parliament)
2. BThe supreme court
3. CThe police
4. DThe prime minister alone

Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949, the House of Lords can generally delay most public bills passed by the Commons for about:

1. AFive years
2. BAs long as it wishes
3. COne year
4. DOne week

A writ of habeas corpus:

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

Parliamentary sovereignty (as described by Dicey) means that:

1. ACourts can strike down any Act of Parliament that conflicts with common law rights
2. BParliament can make or unmake any law, and no body can override its Acts
3. CParliament must obey previous Parliaments
4. DThe executive can override Parliament

After Burmah Oil v Lord Advocate held that compensation was due for property destroyed during the war, Parliament passed the War Damage Act 1965, which:

1. ARequired the courts to hear the case again
2. BWas struck down by the courts
3. CIncreased the compensation payable
4. DRemoved the right to compensation retrospectively

Under section 2 of the UK Human Rights Act 1998, UK courts must, when deciding Convention rights questions:

1. AIgnore Strasbourg case law
2. BRefer all questions to Strasbourg
3. CFollow every relevant Strasbourg judgment strictly, as binding precedent
4. DTake into account judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

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

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

In R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the EU (2017), the Supreme Court said about the Sewel convention that:

1. AIt applies only to Northern Ireland
2. BIt requires Scottish consent to the UK's withdrawal from the EU
3. CIt is a political convention that courts cannot enforce
4. DIt became legally binding when written into statute