The Constitution of the United Kingdom: A Contextual Analysis

Constitutional Systems of the World

by Peter Leyland

This acclaimed book provides a topical and contextual outline of the principles,doctrines and institutions that underpin the United Kingdom constitution. The third edition of The Constitution of the United Kingdom has been comprehensively revised and updated to take account of recent constitutional developments and debates. This the revised framework for devolution following the 2014 referendum in Scotland, the constitutional ramifications of the realignment of UK politics reflected in the result of the 2015 general election and the debate over the possible replacement of the Human Rights Act 1998 with a British Bill of Rights.

The chapters are written in sufficient detail for anyone coming to the subject for the first time to develop a clear and informed view of how the constitution is arranged and how it operates. The main themes discussion of the history, sources and conventions of the constitution; later chapters deal constitutional principles, the role of the Crown, Parliament and the electoral system, government and the executive, the constitutional role of courts including the protection of human rights, the territorial distribution of power between central, devolved and local government, and the European Union dimension. In addition, the book offers analysis of the evolution of the uncodified UK constitution, its strengths and perceived weaknesses, and of reforms aimed at its modernisation.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Law

352 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2007

About the author

Peter Leyland is Professor of Public Law at SOAS, University of London and Emeritus of London Metropolitan University.

Reviews

[Kate Goodrum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommend to those studying a Constitutional Law paper at undergraduate level, especially if you haven't studied law before. It is fairly well organised into different areas of the constitution, and references a lot of important cases. There is not much detail about cases though, so is more useful as a basis to then branch out and research key cases and newer developments in more depth on your own.

[Fifi · Rating 1 out of 5]

No idea why this is on first year law students’ reading lists other than to scare them off by showing them the worst side of the law: dense dry blocks of text. Constitution law can be fun (Fisher, Young) and it can be explained clearly (Endicott, Craig) and this was the opposite of both