Constitutional law worksheet with answers

Judicial review allows courts to:

1. ARewrite any legislation they consider unwise
2. BCheck whether public bodies act lawfully
3. CDecide elections
4. DAppoint government ministers

The United Kingdom's constitution is best described as:

1. AFully written in one document
2. BLargely uncodified
3. CCopied from the US constitution
4. DSet out entirely in EU treaties

An ombudsman typically:

1. AProsecutes criminal offences committed by ministers and civil servants
2. BDrafts legislation for parliament
3. CInvestigates complaints of maladministration by public bodies
4. DHears appeals from the highest court

Ellen Street Estates v Minister of Health is cited for the principle that:

1. AParliament cannot bind its successors, and a later Act impliedly repeals an inconsistent earlier one
2. BParliament can entrench an Act against later repeal by stating expressly that it may not be amended in future
3. CEarlier Acts always prevail over later Acts
4. DCourts may refuse to apply a later Act

Parliamentary sovereignty (as described by Dicey) means that:

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

Proportionality review usually asks whether a measure:

1. AIs popular with voters
2. BPursues a legitimate aim, is suitable, necessary and balanced
3. CWas adopted quickly
4. DIs the cheapest option available and has been approved by parliament

After 2001, the UK detained foreign terrorism suspects indefinitely without trial. In A v Home Secretary (the Belmarsh case), the House of Lords:

1. AHeld that national security questions were for the executive alone and could not be reviewed by courts
2. BOrdered the immediate release of all detainees
3. CMade a declaration of incompatibility, finding the measure disproportionate and discriminatory
4. DUpheld the detention as a valid response to an emergency

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