Research On Blair's Constitutional Reform

In the mid-1990 s,The history of Britain has reached a difficult crossroads and the British constitutional system has encountered an unprecedented crisis.First of all,The external environment has quietly changed.The integration of European economy and politics has had a huge impact on Britain's concept of sovereignty and human rights.Second,There is an inevitable contradiction within the traditional constitutional system of the United Kingdom,which has intensified with the social changes.The centralization model of the British Parliament inevitably limits the autonomy and flexibility of the various components of the United Kingdom,triggering conflicts between the central and local governments.Finally,what is the constitutional system?This became the puzzle of constitutional development during this period.The puzzle of theory will inevitably lead to questioning and reflection on the traditional constitutional system.The dialogue between legal constitutionalism and political constitutionalism reflects the challenge to traditional constitutionalism.These crises led to three constitutional reforms during the Blair administration period: the British Parliament enacted the Human Right Act in response to the crisis of human rights protection;Decentralization of legislative power to Scotland,Wales,and Northern Ireland,which adjusted the traditional centralized power model;Moreover,every reform reflects the puzzled exploration of constitutional theory: Should we uphold historical concepts that are consistent with politicalconstitutionalism and parliamentary sovereignty,or should we introduce a court to impose external restrictions on parliament?The change of judicial power in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has become an unavoidable issue in the exploration of Blair's constitutional reforms.At the institutional theoretical level,Every reform strengthens the judicial power.Although the Human Right Act is a product of compromise to the parliamentary sovereignty,it gives the court the right to interpret parliamentary legislation and makes a declaration of inconsistency.Decentralization also maintains the ultimate power of the Westminster Parliament.However,due to the ambiguity of the power boundaries,disputes about the purview boundaries are inevitably taken place.These questions about devolution finally go to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.Finally,the establishment of the Supreme Court may,to a certain extent,ensure the independence of the judiciary,and it has obtained jurisdiction over the issue of decentralization and the right to judicial interpretation granted by the Human Rights Act.In the actual operation of the Supreme Court,due to its jurisdiction over decentralization issues and the judicial interpretation power conferred by the Human Rights Act,it continues to strengthen its judicial power in the handling of three types of cases and consolidates its position in the constitutional order.First of all,due to the continuous emergence of devolution issues,the Supreme Court obtained powers regarding the distribution of powers in dealing with disputes between the Westminster Parliament and the sub-parliamentary councils such as Scotland.Second,in dealing with disputes between the British Parliament and the European Court of Human Rights about the protection of human rights,the Supreme Court became a dialogue agency between them,which strengthened the Supreme Court's right to interpret human rights.Moreover,because the Human Rights Act incorporates the rights of the European Convention on Human Rights into British domestic law,it has led to inconsistent contradictions in the protection of citizens' rights between Scotland,Wales,and Northern Ireland,especially the specificity of Scottish criminal law.The pressure for uniformity of rights protection continues to increase.In response to thepressure of the European Court of Human Rights and the consistent protection of British citizens' rights,Parliament had to stand on the Supreme Court side to support the role of the Supreme Court in unifying the laws of Scotland,Ireland,and Northern Ireland.Therefore,after Blair's constitutional reforms,the judicial power of the Supreme Court has risen,and it is foreseeable that in the near future it may become a force that restricts parliament.