Constitutional law worksheet with answers

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

1. AElects the Speaker of the House of Commons
2. BMay permanently veto bills that alter the constitution of the United Kingdom
3. CDoes not block government bills carrying out manifesto commitments
4. DMust approve all money bills within one week

The United Kingdom's constitution is best described as:

1. AFully written in one document
2. BCopied from the US constitution
3. CSet out entirely in EU treaties
4. DLargely uncodified

Under section 6 of the UK Human Rights Act 1998, it is unlawful for:

1. AA private person to breach any Convention right
2. BCourts to apply Acts of Parliament
3. CParliament to pass any Act limiting rights
4. DA public authority to act incompatibly with Convention rights

In Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza, the House of Lords used section 3 of the Human Rights Act to read "as his or her wife or husband" in the Rent Act as:

1. AExcluding all unmarried partners
2. BApplying only to registered marriages
3. CIncompatible, so it issued a declaration
4. DIncluding same-sex partners

In R v Home Secretary, ex p Fire Brigades Union, the House of Lords held the minister acted unlawfully by:

1. ABringing the statutory scheme into force without first consulting the bodies that would be affected by it
2. BUsing the prerogative to set up a scheme inconsistent with a statutory scheme not yet in force
3. CBringing a statute into force too quickly
4. DRefusing to consult the fire brigades

The Dutch Constitution (Article 120) forbids courts from:

1. AApplying international treaties
2. BReviewing Acts of Parliament for compatibility with the Constitution
3. CHearing criminal cases
4. DReviewing decisions of municipalities and provinces against national statutes

In Germany, an individual who claims a public authority has violated their basic rights may, after exhausting other remedies, bring:

1. AA constitutional complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court
2. BA petition directly to the Bundestag's President
3. CA request to the Federal President to veto
4. DA case to the European Court of Justice

The government tried to stop publication of a former Cabinet minister's diaries. In AG v Jonathan Cape (the Crossman diaries case), the court held that:

1. AThe convention of Cabinet secrecy is directly enforceable law, so publication of the diaries had to be restrained
2. BMinisters' diaries are always Crown property
3. CCabinet discussions could be protected as confidential, but the material was now too old to restrain
4. DCourts can never restrain publication of political material