The Constitution Society

The Constitution Society
Founded 2009
Type Think Tank
Location
  • Top Floor, 61 Petty France, London, SW1H 9EU
Website www.consoc.org.uk/

The Constitution Society is an independent, non-party educational trust based near Westminster, England. It was established in 2009 to promote public understanding of the British Constitution and to work to encourage informed debate between legislators, academics and the public about proposals for constitutional change. The Constitution Society does not take any position on the merits of specific reform proposals, and neither endorses nor opposes the introduction of a written constitution.

Aims

Though neutral about substantive constitutional issues, the Constitution Society strongly supports due process and good government and believes that constitutional change should only be introduced to address genuine deficiencies, and only after careful analysis and broad consultation.

Publications

The Constitution Society has submitted evidence to many Parliamentary Select Committee Committee inquiries and published a number of independent research papers on matters of constitutional importance.

Select Committee evidence submissions

The Constitution Society's has submitted evidence to the House of Commons Liaison Committee's inquiry into "Select Committee Powers and Effectiveness",[1][2] the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution's inquiry into the "Process of Constitutional Change",[3][4] and the Commission on a Bill of Rights for the UK.[5][6]

More recently the Constitution Society has submitted evidence to multiple inquiries by the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee including; "Do we need a constitutional convention for the UK,"[7][8] "Ensuring standards in the quality of legislation,"[9][10] "Mapping the path to codifying - or not codifying - the UK's Constitution"[11][12] and "Prospects for codifying the relationship between central and local government".[13][14] Written evidence submitted by the Constitution Society to the Political and Constitution Select Committee and published research subsequently used to support successful amendments tabled in the House of Lords.[15]

Notable publications

In May 2016, the Constitution Society published a paper entitled "Brexit: The Immediate Legal Consequences",[16] written by Richard Gordon Q.C. and Rowena Moffatt. The report has been referenced by the UK Human Rights Blog,[17] which is edited by 1 Crown Office Row barristers' chambers.

In June 2012, the Constitution Society published a report entitled “Select Committees and Coercive Powers – Clarity or Confusion”[18] written by Richard Gordon Q.C. and Amy Street. The report has been referenced by the Clerk of the Commons, Robert Rogers, in a Liaison Committee paper entitled “Select Committee Powers and Effectiveness”,[19] and by Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls in a parliamentary debate on the Libor scandal.[20][21]

The Constitution Society provides administrative assistance to the Better Government Initiative, and to the African Commercial Law Foundation.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Liaison-Committee-submission-THE-CONSTITUTION-SOCIETY.docx
  2. ↑ "Select committee effectiveness, resources and powers - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  3. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Constitution-Committee-Evidence-The-Process-of-Constitutional-Change.doc
  4. ↑ "Constitutional Reform Process - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  5. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/COBR-submission-THE-CONSTITUTION-SOCIETY.docx
  6. ↑ "Commission on a Bill of Rights". Justice.gov.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  7. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Constitutional-Convention-Evidence.doc
  8. ↑ "Do we need a constitutional convention for the UK? - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  9. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Legislative-Standards-Submission.doc
  10. ↑ "Ensuring standards in the quality of legislation - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  11. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Codified-Constitution-Submission.docx
  12. ↑ "Mapping the path to codifying - or not codifying - the UK's Constitution - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  13. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Evidence-Submission-Local-Government.doc
  14. ↑ "Prospects for codifying the relationship between central and local government - UK Parliament". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  15. ↑ The Lord Rooker (6 December 2010). "Evidence to the Lords Committee on the Parliamentary Voting systems and Constituencies Bill, citing research by The Constitution Society". Lords Hansard. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  16. ↑ "Brexit: The Immediate Legal Consequences" (PDF).
  17. ↑ English, Rosalind (2016-07-05). "Get out the back, Jack? make a new plan, Stan?". UK Human Rights Blog. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  18. ↑ http://www.consoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Select-Committees-and-Coercive-Powers-Clarity-or-Confusion.pdf
  19. ↑ "Clerk of the Commons hails our select committees report | The Constitution Society: Working to promote informed debate about constitutional reform". Consoc.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  20. ↑ "Footage of Shadow Chancellor referring to our report in Parliament | The Constitution Society: Working to promote informed debate about constitutional reform". Consoc.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  21. ↑ "Ed Balls references our "very important" Power of Select Committees Report amidst Libor scandal | The Constitution Society: Working to promote informed debate about constitutional reform". Consoc.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
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