The Preliminary Study On The Reasons For The Formation Of The British Costitutionalism

Britain is the first country which took place the bourgeois revolution and established the constitutional system having operat firmly to date with continuous improvement, meanwhile, the British constitution impacts strongly on other countries'around the world,and became the mother of them.Prof.munro said in his :Free political system of governance is the greatest contribution of Anglo-Norman to world civilization. Why stable constitutional system could be estabished first in Britain? This article will trace the doult, clarify the reasons by the tradition of suopremacy of law and political consultation which is reflected in the substance of British constitution what is"rule of Law"and"Parliamentary Sovereignty"explained by Dicey.Besides the introduction and conclusions, there are five chapters in this article. Chapter one reviews the politics and legal mainly on customary Law and Witan in the period of Anglo-Saxon, in order to explain the period is the initiation of Btitish constitutionalism, and point out that the political and legal culture originated from the habits of social life of early Germanic People. The second chapter describs the feudalism and feudal law established after Norman conquest, manifests that the King and his vassal were a kind of contractual relationship with mutual rights obligations in which the King'power was constrained. Also,it reveals the causes of Magna Carta, value and influence. The third chapter reviews the history of British parliament which is from the Great feudal council as the King's judicial and advisory body to modern parliament that has sovereignty. The form and power of parliament has been changing constantly.The King, nobility, and the citizen class constantly struggled and comprised with each other for taking dominant power in the parliament. Between house of commons and house lords, any gain for one must mean a loss for the other. Ultimately how was the constitutional monarchy established? Chapter four focus on the generation,characteristics and spirit of common law as well as the role of jurist class, and point out the system of case law, stare dcisis, character of formalism in common law all fit with the spirit of rule of law. Independent jurists class of common law is important force to promoting the independence of justic and protecting the human rights. Chapter five discusses the diversified and bananced power structure of society in Britain, atempt to show that society with a single dominant political force is absolutely impossible to establish the constitutional system which is based on separation of powers. The reason why constitutional system could be built first in Britain lies in that no political force has absolute advangtage to other classes.It is in the background of sociaties with balanced power, the major social classes may cooperate and comprise with each other, opening the way for the establishment of the constitutional government.