Constitutional laws marking the emergence of the British Constitution:
1. Habeas Corpus Act: Signed and approved by Charles II on May 26, 1679. Consisting of 20 articles and approximately 4,000 words, its main content is: Except for cases of treason, felony, or during wartime or states of emergency, no person shall be arrested or detained without a warrant issued by a court stating the reasons; those arrested according to law shall be transferred to a court for trial periodically based on the distance; upon receiving the detainee, the court shall make a decision on release, arrest, or release on bail within two days; upon application by the arrested person or their agent, the court may issue a writ of habeas corpus, ordering the arresting agency or personnel to state the reasons; no person released on bail shall be detained again for the same offense; residents of England shall not be transported to other regions for detention for crimes committed.
2. Bill of Rights: Accepted by William III on October 23, 1689, as proposed by Parliament. Consisting of 13 articles and approximately 800 words, its core content is to limit royal power and establish the bourgeois constitutional principle of parliamentary supremacy. Meanwhile, Article 5 stipulates the right to petition; Articles 8 and 9 stipulate the rights and freedoms of members of Parliament; Article 10 stipulates civil rights such as the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
3. Act of Settlement: Formulated in 1700 and promulgated in 1701, it aimed to ensure the rights and freedoms of the bourgeoisie and achieve bourgeois control over royal power by regulating the succession to the throne.
Important constitutional laws during the period of British constitutional change:
1. Improving the parliamentary system: The Parliament Act 1911 stipulated the "relationship between the powers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons," but its essence was to further weaken and limit the power of the House of Lords through this act, causing the House of Lords to lose its veto power over all resolutions passed by the House of Commons, retaining only a delaying power. The Parliament Act 1949 further curtailed and limited this delaying power.
2. Reforming the electoral system: First, the Representation of the People Act 1918 was the first electoral law, consisting of 5 chapters, 47 articles, and 25,000 words. It separately stipulated the right to vote, registration, election methods and expenses, number of parliamentary seats, and general provisions, relaxed the restrictions on the residency period for voters, and granted some women the right to vote for the first time. Second, the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 amended the previous act, enabling women to obtain equal voting rights with men. Third, the Representation of the People Act 1948 abolished the plural voting rights for property owners and university graduates from the previous two acts, and unified the voter qualifications for participating in national and local elections.
3. Laws regulating the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Dominions: Such as the Statute of Westminster 1931.
