Subnational Constitutionalism in the United Kingdom::Constitutional Statutes Within the Context of an Uncodified Constitution

Skoutaris, Nikos (2021) Subnational Constitutionalism in the United Kingdom::Constitutional Statutes Within the Context of an Uncodified Constitution. In: Routledge Handbook of Subnational Constitutions and Constitutionalism. Routledge, pp. 270-293. ISBN 9780367510152

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Abstract

‘[F]ederalism provisions of constitutions are often peculiarly the product of political compromise in historically situated moments, generally designed as a practical rather than a principled accommodation of competing interests.’ This is even more so in the case of states like the UK, which have not adopted a fully federal model but have opted for a system of asymmetrical devolution. The pragmatic constitutional solutions that characterize the UK system represent an attempt to reconcile calls for regional autonomy with a desire to retain the borders of the metropolitan state and the effectiveness of the central government. In order to find the balance between those aims, the UK constitutional order has used the instrument of (sub-)constitutional documents to allow for some ‘site-specific’ decentralization/devolution. Each and every one of the UK devolution acts is a by-product of the very different set of political and historical conditions that led to its adoption. At the same time, those statutes can be also read as an attempt to accommodate the different aspirations of their regions. The chapter offers a concise analysis of the status of those constitutional statutes within the context of the UK's uncodified and idiosyncratic constitution.

Item Type:	Book Section
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > International Law
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	24 Sep 2021 00:32
Last Modified:	11 May 2022 00:05
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/81505
DOI:	10.4324/9781003052111-18

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