Constitutional law worksheet with answers

The Dutch Parliament (Staten-Generaal) consists of:

1. AThe King and the Council of Ministers
2. BThe provincial councils and municipal councils
3. CThe House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) and the Senate (Eerste Kamer)
4. DThe Council of State and the Supreme Court

The Sewel convention says that the UK Parliament will not normally:

1. ADebate matters concerning Scotland
2. BChange taxes without a referendum
3. CLegislate on devolved matters without the devolved legislature's consent
4. DLegislate on Scottish matters without first holding a referendum in Scotland

The Salisbury convention in the UK means that the House of Lords:

1. ADoes not block government bills carrying out manifesto commitments
2. BMust approve all money bills within one week
3. CElects the Speaker of the House of Commons
4. DMay permanently veto bills that alter the constitution of the United Kingdom

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. CRemoved the right to compensation retrospectively
4. DIncreased the compensation payable

Under ECHR case law such as Sunday Times v UK, for a restriction to be "prescribed by law", the law must be:

1. AApproved by a referendum
2. BContained in a single written statute passed by parliament
3. COlder than the Convention
4. DAdequately accessible and foreseeable in its effects

A minister refuses to refer a complaint to a committee because the result might embarrass the government. In Padfield v Minister of Agriculture, the House of Lords held:

1. AThe minister had unlimited discretion
2. BThe refusal was unlawful, as it frustrated the purpose of the Act
3. COnly Parliament could question the minister
4. DThe refusal was lawful, since the Act imposed no duty to give reasons

Dicey argued that in England individual liberties were mainly protected by:

1. AThe personal decisions of the monarch
2. BA specialised constitutional court
3. CThe ordinary courts applying the common law
4. DA written bill of rights with higher status

In YL v Birmingham City Council (2007), the House of Lords held that a private care home housing residents funded by a council:

1. AWas not exercising a function of a public nature under the Human Rights Act
2. BWas a hybrid public authority bound by the Act for all the care it provided
3. CWas a core public authority
4. DCould not house publicly funded residents