Freedom of association and the law in the United Kingdom

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dc.contributor.authorRivers, Julianen
dc.contributor.editorCahill, Maria
dc.contributor.editorÓ Conaill, Seán
dc.contributor.editorNewman, Dwight
dc.contributor.editorMcIntyre, Ruairí
dc.contributor.editorLasagni, Giulia
dc.contributor.editorKhasri, Aoif
dc.contributor.funderIrish Research Councilen
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-08T14:45:04Z
dc.date.available2025-09-08T14:45:04Z
dc.date.issued2025en
dc.description.abstractIf there is one feature of the British constitution which is generally well-known, apart, that is, from the existence of a monarchy, it is the fact that it is ‘unwritten’. Having escaped major political turmoil since the revolution of 1688-9, it has evolved incrementally rather than experienced processes of wholesale codification. The highest form of law within the United Kingdom is an Act of Parliament, a piece of primary legislation, almost always promoted by the government of the day, and approved by both Houses. But ‘Parliament does not legislate in a vacuum. Parliament legislates for a European liberal democracy founded on the principles and traditions of the common law, and courts may approach legislation on this initial assumption.’ The common law provides a rich and complex legal context within which legislation takes its effect, somewhat as the conventions of language shape the possibilities of intelligible speech. The political context is further stabilised by constitutional conventions. These are normative practices which modify political powers in line with modern principles of governance. For example, by convention the monarch appoints as prime minister that person best able to command the support of a majority of the House of Commons, and by convention the monarch assents to any legislation which passes both houses. In this way traditional forms of rule are made responsive to democratic principle.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationRivers, J. (2025) 'Freedom of association and the law in the United Kingdom', Societās Working Paper 23/2025 (23pp). Cork: School of Law, University College Cork.en
dc.identifier.endpage23en
dc.identifier.issued23
dc.identifier.startpage1en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/17835
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherSchool of Law, University College Corken
dc.relation.ispartofSocietās: Exploring the Value of Freedom of Association
dc.relation.ispartofGlobal Perspectives on Freedom of Association Collection
dc.relation.ispartofSocietās Working Paper Series
dc.rights© 2025, the Author(s). Views expressed do not represent the views of the Societās project or the School of Law at UCC.en
dc.subjectFreedom of associationen
dc.subjectLawen
dc.subjectUnited Kingdomen
dc.titleFreedom of association and the law in the United Kingdomen
dc.typeWorking paperen
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