Download or read book HC 802 - Constitutional Role of the Judiciary if There Were a Codified Constitution written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report is part of the Committee's ongoing work on a codified constitution for the UK. It discusses the constitutional role of the judiciary if there were a codified constitution. If the UK were to move towards a codified constitution, one way of addressing the question of what powers the judiciary should have if they held a piece of legislation to be unconstitutional, would be to introduce the concept of a "declaration of unconstitutionality". This could work in the same way as the declaration of incompatibility used under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 for situations in which UK legislation is held to be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. Furthermore, if the UK were to adopt a codified constitution, there would be no need for a separate constitutional court. The Supreme Court could adjudicate on constitutional matters. It would be understandable if the judiciary were unwilling to comment on the contents of a codified constitution, but it would be important to find a way of hearing their views on the implications of the proposals once the general structure of the constitution had been agreed. If necessary, some of the discussion could take place under Chatham House rules. Retired members of the judiciary would also be likely to feel freer to offer their opinions than those still serving as judges