Constitutional law worksheet with answers

The principle of legality in public law means that a public authority:

1. ACan act freely unless a statute expressly prohibits the particular action taken
2. BMust always be elected
3. CCan ignore laws during weekends
4. DNeeds a legal basis for its actions, especially when interfering with rights

In the UK, the head of government is:

1. AThe Lord Chancellor
2. BThe monarch
3. CThe Prime Minister
4. DThe Speaker of the House of Commons

Section 3 of the UK Human Rights Act 1998 requires courts to:

1. AAsk Parliament to interpret unclear statutes
2. BStrike down any provision of an Act that cannot be read compatibly with Convention rights
3. CRead and give effect to legislation compatibly with Convention rights, so far as possible
4. DFollow every judgment of the Strasbourg court

In the GCHQ case, the House of Lords held that the exercise of prerogative powers:

1. AIs always fully reviewable, whatever subject matter it concerns
2. BCan never be reviewed by the courts
3. CCan be judicially reviewed, depending on its subject matter
4. DCan be reviewed only if Parliament agrees

In the Factortame litigation, while the UK was an EU member, the House of Lords:

1. ADeclared the European Communities Act 1972 invalid
2. BHeld that EU law could never limit Acts of Parliament
3. CDisapplied parts of an Act of Parliament that conflicted with EU law
4. DReferred the matter to the European Court of Human Rights

To bring a claim for judicial review in England and Wales, the claimant must have:

1. AA sufficient interest in the matter
2. BSuffered financial loss
3. CA contract with the public body
4. DPermission from the minister

A statute says a commission's "determination ... shall not be called in question in any court of law". In Anisminic v Foreign Compensation Commission, the House of Lords held:

1. AThe clause excluded all judicial review
2. BThe decision was immune from review because the ouster clause applied to all its determinations
3. CThe clause was invalid as unconstitutional
4. DThe clause did not protect a decision based on an error of law, because that was a nullity

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

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