Publi Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Publi Law - Essay Example The Prime Minister of the UK is the leader of the Majority Party in the House of Commons. In the UK the legal system is founded on the concept of rule of law and endeavours to provide justice, equality and procedural fairness to all. (MSI Legal and Accounting Network Worldwide, n.d.). In the British Constitution, Supremacy of the Rule of Law is the main guiding principle. In order to achieve and ensure this Supremacy, it is essential to have independent judiciary who are not a part of the legislature. To surmount the trap laid by tyranny and despotism, the UK constitution has evolved in such a manner that there is separation of powers and this in turn provides protection against oppression. The rule of law was introduced to exclude the arbitrary authority of the government and to provide legal safeguards for the protection of the individuals and their rights. This concept was developed by Professor A.V. Dicey, a well known authority on the English Law, and published in the year 1885 in his magnum opus Law of the Constitution. The rule of law comprises of three principles, namely supremacy of the law, equality before the law and the predominance of the legal spirit. Dicey emphasized the role of the courts of law as guarantors of liberty and suggested that these ri ghts would be secured more effectively if they were enforceable in the courts of law rather than being merely declared in a document. In the case of Entick V. Carrington (1765), government officials raided the plaintiff's printing press and damaged his property. This was done without any reasonable grounds whatsoever, except for the reason that this had been ordered by the secretary of state. The House of Lords in their decision condemned the government's actions and awarded 300 to the petitioner as compensation. This illustrates the absolute supremacy of the law. In the case Padfield V. The Ministry of Agriculture (1968), milk producers in South - East England petitioned the Minister to appoint a committee of investigators to look into their complaints regarding the levels of subsidy to be granted to milk producers according to the England Agriculture Marketing Act, 1958. The Minister rejected this request. The House of Lords found fault with this rejection and ordered the Minister to appoint a committee of investigators. This case demonstrates the concept of equality before the law alongwith the concept of absolute supremacy of the law as described by Dicey in his Rule of Law. The enforcement of the law is, by a process of devolution, placed within the ambit of the people and this process is known as Trial by Jury. In this exemplary procedure enforcement and legislation are separated. Such separation constitutes the strongest safeguard as it subjects the enforcement of the statute of the law to a test of acceptance by the common law in the hands of the people. The Sovereign power of the nation is vested with the constitutionally limited monarch in the United Kingdom. The House of Lords and the House of Commons determine the context and contents of the bill that are enacted by the granting of royal assent. Royal assent is the prerogatory power of the monarch who is sworn contractually to abide by the coronation oath, the bill of rights, etc,. The monarch is bound by oath to govern the people according to the laws and customs of the nation (Bingley, 2005). The essential features of democratic constitutions which exist in one form or another, in virtually all